Abstract
Purpose:
Positron emission tomography (PET), in addition to computed tomography (CT), has an effect in target volume definition for radical radiotherapy (RT) for non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In previously PET-CT staged patients with NSCLC, we assessed the effect of using an additional planning PET-CT scan for gross tumor volume (GTV) definition.
Methods and Materials: A total of 28 patients with Stage IA-IIIB NSCLC were enrolled. All patients had undergone staging PET-CT to ensure suitability for radical RT. Of the 28 patients, 14 received induction chemotherapy. In place of a RT planning CT scan, patients underwent scanning on a PET-CT scanner. In a virtual planning study, four oncologists independently delineated the GTVon the CT scan alone and then on the PET-CTscan. Intraobserver and interobserver variability were assessed using the concordance index (CI), and the results were compared using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test.
Results: PET-CT improved the CI between observers when defining the GTVusing the PET-CT images compared
with using CTalone for matched cases (median CI, 0.57 for CTand 0.64 for PET-CT, p = .032). The median of the
mean percentage of volume change from GTVCT to GTVFUSED was 5.21% for the induction chemotherapy group and 18.88% for the RT-alone group. Using the Mann-Whitney U test, this was significantly different (p = .001).
Conclusion: PET-CT RT planning scan, in addition to a staging PET-CT scan, reduces interobserver variability in
GTV definition for NSCLC. The GTV size with PET-CT compared with CT in the RT-alone group increased and
was reduced in the induction chemotherapy group.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 24-30 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics |
Volume | 77 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 May 2010 |
Bibliographical note
This publication in one of the top two leading radiotherapy journals was the 1st published clinical publication to test the pure performance of PET/CT for radiotherapy planning, beyond the impact that PET/CT had on staging alone.Keywords
- Lung Cancer
- NSCLC
- PET/CT
- RADIOTHERAPY
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cancer Research
- Oncology
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Radiation