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Improving normal tissue sparing using scripting in endometrial cancer radiation therapy planning

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to improve the protection of organs at risk (OARs), decrease the total planning time and maintain sufficient target doses using scripting endometrial cancer external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) planning. Computed tomography (CT) data of 14 endometrial cancer patients were included in this study. Manual and automatic planning with scripting were performed for each CT. Scripts were created in the RayStation™ (RaySearch Laboratories AB, Stockholm, Sweden) planning system using a Python code. In scripting, seven additional contours were automatically created to reduce the OAR doses. The scripted and manual plans were compared to each other in terms of planning time, dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters, and total monitor unit (MU) values. While the mean total planning time for manual planning was 368 ± 8 s, it was only 55 ± 2 s for the automatic planning with scripting (p < 0.001). The mean doses of OARs decreased with automatic planning (p < 0.001). In addition, the maximum doses (D2% and D1%) for bilateral femoral heads and the rectum were significantly reduced. It was observed that the total MU value increased from 1146 ± 126 (manual planning) to 1369 ± 95 (scripted planning). It is concluded that scripted planning has significant time and dosimetric advantages over manual planning for endometrial cancer EBRT planning.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, 06100, Ankara, Turkey

    Yagiz Yedekci, Melis Gültekin, Sezin Yuce Sari & Ferah Yildiz

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  1. Yagiz Yedekci
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  2. Melis Gültekin
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  3. Sezin Yuce Sari
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  4. Ferah Yildiz
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Contributions

YY designed and performed the experiments, derived the models, and analyzed the data. MG assisted with plan evaluation. YY and SYS wrote the manuscript in consultation with MG and FY.

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Correspondence to Yagiz Yedekci.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The research protocol was approved by the institutional ethics committee of Hacettepe University with the protocol number GO 21/1357.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual patients included in the study.

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Yedekci, Y., Gültekin, M., Sari, S.Y. et al. Improving normal tissue sparing using scripting in endometrial cancer radiation therapy planning. Radiat Environ Biophys 62, 253–260 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-023-01019-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-023-01019-2

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