Boosting central target dose by optimizing embedded dose hot spots for gamma knife radiosurgery

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Radiation Oncology
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a key treatment for brain tumors and other intracranial lesions.
• Optimizing dose delivery is crucial for maximizing tumor control and minimizing side effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an optimized boost technique for Gamma Knife radiosurgery.
• To investigate the feasibility of embedding and optimizing dose hot spots within conventional plans.

Main Methods:

• Development of an optimization algorithm for arranging and adjusting embedded dose hot spots.
• Comparison of treatment plans using the optimized boost technique versus conventional Gamma Knife plans with randomly placed hot spots.

Main Results:

• The embedded boost technique significantly increased the maximum target dose (average 31% or 5-6 Gy).
• Mean target dose increased by an average of 7.1% (1.5-2 Gy), with minimal impact (<0.5%) on adjacent normal brain tissue.
• Planning effort and treatment time remained comparable to conventional methods.

Conclusions:

• A simple and effective technique was developed to increase central target dose in Gamma Knife radiosurgery.
• The technique successfully enhances dose delivery to the target without compromising normal brain sparing.