Intensity Modulated Arc Therapy in Bilaterally Irradiated Head and Neck Cancer: A Comparative and Prospective Multicenter Planning Study

Abstract

A dosimetric comparison was made of Helical Tomotherapy (HT) and Rapid'Arc® (RA) in 115 patients with head and neck carcinoma included in a prospective and multicentric study. HT and RA provided highly conformal plans that easily complied with dose volume constraints for organs at risk. HT reduced high doses to the planning target volumes (PTVs) compared to RA and provided a more homogeneous dose distribution but with an increased Non Tumoral Integral Dose (NTID) than RA. However, the clinical consequences of these dosimetric advantages and disadvantages need further investigation.

Keywords: :

• Head and Neck cancer
• Bilateral neck irradiation
• Simultaneous integrated boost (SIB)
• Volumetric modulated arc therapy
• Intensity modulated arc therapy

Notice of Correction

Changes have been made to this article since its original online publication date of 7 March 2014.