Dosimetric feasibility of computed tomography-based image-guided brachytherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer: a Japanese prospective multi-institutional study

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of planning dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters in computed tomography-based 3D image-guided brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer. In a prospective multi-institutional study, 60 patients with stage IIA2-IVA cervical cancer from eight institutions were treated with external beam radiotherapy using central shielding and intracavitary or hybrid (combined intracavitary/interstitial) brachytherapy (HBT). The dose constraints were set as a cumulative linear quadratic equivalent dose (EQD2) of at least 60 Gy for high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV) D-90, D-2cc <= 75 Gy for rectum, D-2cc <= 90 Gy for bladder and D-2cc <= 75 Gy for sigmoid. The median HR-CTV D-90 was 70.0 Gy (range, 62.8-83.7 Gy) in EQD2. The median D-2cc of rectum, bladder and sigmoid was 57.1 Gy (range, 39.8-72.1 Gy), 68.9 Gy (range, 46.5-84.9 Gy) and 57.2 Gy (range, 39.2-71.2 Gy) in EQD2, respectively. In 76 of 233 sessions (33%), 23 patients underwent HBT, and the median number of interstitial needles was 2 (range, 1-5). HBT for a bulky HR-CTV (>= 40 cm(3)) significantly improved the HR-CTV D-90 compared with intracavitary brachytherapy alone (P = 0.010). All patients fulfilled the dose constrains for target and at risk organs by undergoing HBT in one-third of sessions. We conclude that the planning DVH parameters used in our protocol are clinically feasible.

Automated summary

This study assessed the feasibility of planning dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters in computed tomography-based 3D image-guided brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer. The results showed that using hybrid (combined intracavitary/interstitial) brachytherapy (HBT) significantly improved HR-CTV D-90, fulfilling dose constraints for target and at-risk organs.