Motion management and image guidance for thoracic tumor radiotherapy: clinical treatment programs

Managing target motion first requires understanding the nature of the motion characteristic of the tumor in the individual patient. It is important to have effective immobilization and patient training strategies to help reduce motion, and then to design appropriate margins and compensation for the residual motion that is quantified. Especially when considering complex, technically demanding treatments that require a degree of patient cooperation, careful patient selection is needed to ensure that the potential benefits of the treatment design are actually realized. Finally, accurate treatment hinges critically on verification - of overall positioning, of target and organ motion at the time of treatment, and of the performance of the selected treatment strategy. Properly selected imaging methods are central to this verification process. This discussion will present practical solutions for motion management and image guidance of radiotherapy for thoracic tumors, and most of these concepts are widely applicable to treatment of other tumor sites as well.