Four-dimensional computed tomography-based interfractional reproducibility study of lung tumor intrafractional motion

To evaluate the interfractional reproducibility of respiration-induced lung tumors motion, defined by their centroids and the intrafractional target motion range.

Twentythree pairs of four-dimensional/computed tomography scans were acquired for 22 patients. Gross tumor volumes were contoured, Clinical target volumes (CTVs) were generated. Geometric data for CTVs and lung volumes were extracted. The motion tracks of CTV centroids, and CTV edges along the cranio-caudal, anterior-posterior, and lateral directions were evaluated. The Pearson correlation coefficient for motion tracks along the cranio-caudal direction was determined for the entire respiratory cycle and for five phases about the end of expiration.

The largest motion extent was along the cranio-caudal direction. The intrafractional motion extent for five CTVs was <0.5 cm, the largest motion range was 3.59 cm. Three CTVs with respiration-induced displacement >0.5 cm did not exhibit the similarity of motion, and for 16 CTVs with motion >0.5 cm the correlation coefficient was >0.8. The lung volumes in corresponding phases for cases that demonstrated CTVs motion similarity were reproducible. No correlation between tumor size and mobility was found.

Target motion reproducibility seems to be present in 87% of cases in our dataset. Three cases with dissimilar motion indicate that it is advisable to verify target motion during treatment. The adaptive adjustment to compensate the possible interfractional shifts in a target position should be incorporated as a routine policy for lung cancer radiotherapy.