Dosimetric comparison of two radiotherapy treatment planning approaches for multiple brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer on CyberKnife

Objective To compare the dosimetrics of the plan target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OARs) between two treatment planning approaches for patients with multiple brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer on CyberKnife. Methods 20 patients with multiple metastases from lung carcinoma were reviewed and analyzed, who had been treated by CyberKnife from December 2017 to December 2018. The CyberKnife stereotactic radiotherapy plans of the 20 cases were re-planed with single plan for multiple lesions and multiple plans per lesion. The dosimetry differences of PTV and OARs isodose disribution, conformity index (CI), total beam counts and total monitor units (MUs) were compared in the two types of plans. Results The two types of plans could satisfy over 95% PTV coverage of the prescription dose. The maximum and mean dose of normal brain adjacent to the PTV were reduced in multiple plan approach effectively. Moreover, the maximum and mean dose of OARs (brainstem) dropped by 1.62% and 5.57% (t=1.09, P<0.01) respectively. The number of treatment nodes and total MU declined by 4.63% (t=1.87, P<0.01)and 1.06% in multiple plan approach, which could significantly shorten the clinical treatment time. The differences in CI index between these two types of plans was of no statistical significance. Conclusions For patients with multiple brain metastases of similar diameter and volume from non-small cell lung cancer to be treated on CyberKnife, multiple plans per lesion could not only reduce dose to normal brain tissue and OARs, but also improve the treatment efficiency. Key words: CyberKnife; Multiple brain metastases; Treatment Plan; Dosimetry distribution; Brain injury