Verification of dose distribution for volumetric modulated arc therapy total marrow irradiation in a humanlike phantom

Purpose: Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment planning studies have been reported to provide good target coverage and organs at risk (OARs) sparing in total marrow irradiation (TMI). A comprehensive dosimetric study simulating the clinical situation as close as possible is a norm in radiotherapy before a technique can be used to treat a patient. Without such a study, it would be difficult to make a reliable and safe clinical transition especially with a technique as complicated as VMAT-TMI. To this end, the dosimetric feasibility of VMAT-TMI technique in terms of treatment planning, delivery efficiency, and the most importantly three dimensional dose distribution accuracy was investigated in this study. The VMAT-TMI dose distribution inside a humanlike Rando phantom was measured and compared to the dose calculated using RapidArc especially in the field junctions and the inhomogeneous tissues including the lungs, which is the dose-limiting organ in TMI. Methods: Three subplans with a total of nine arcs were used to treat the planning target volume (PTV), which was determined as all the bones plus the 3 mm margin. Thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) were placed at 39 positions throughout the phantom. The measured TLD doses were compared to the calculated plan doses. Planar dose for each arc was verified using mapcheck. Results: TLD readings demonstrated accurate dose delivery, with a median dose difference of 0.5% (range: 4.3% and 6.6%) from the calculated dose in the junctions and in the inhomogeneous medium including the lungs. Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that RapidArc VMAT technique is dosimetrically accurate, safe, and efficient in delivering TMI within clinically acceptable time frame. (C) 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [DOI: 10.1118/1.3668055]