Quantification of the radiation dose to the pyramidal tract using tractography in treatment planning for stereotactic...

In stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial lesions, optimization of the dose to the at-risk organs is important to avoid neurological complications. We aimed to quantify the dose to the pyramidal tract (PT) and improve treatment planning for gamma knife radiosurgery by combining tractography. Pyramidal tractography images were depicted in 23 patients with lesions adjacent to the PT and fused with stereotactic magnetic resonance images. We regarded the PT as an at-risk organ and performed dose planning. To assess the efficacy of this process, we compared clinical parameters between plans with and without tractography. In the plans with tractography, the maximum PT dose was significantly reduced, although the irradiation time was prolonged by 3.5 min. There was no significant difference in the dose covering 95% of the lesion volume (D95). This result suggests that the PT dose can be reduced while maintaining the D95 with clinically acceptable prolongation of the irradiation time.