Radiotherapy Plan Quality Assurance in NRG Oncology Trials for Brain and Head/Neck Cancers: An AI-Enhanced...

Area of Science:

• Radiation Oncology
• Medical Physics
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Radiation therapy (RT) treatment plan quality is crucial for clinical trial outcomes.
• Knowledge-based planning (KBP) is a method for RT plan quality assurance (QA).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the quality of RT plans for brain and head/neck cancers using a KBP approach in multi-institutional clinical trials.
• To assess the effectiveness of KBP models in improving plan quality and reducing variability.

Main Methods:

• Developed KBP photon and proton models using high-quality plans from glioblastoma (GBM) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) trials.
• Applied KBP models to generate new plans for trial patients.
• Compared KBP-generated plans against submitted plans for protocol compliance, target coverage, and organ-at-risk (OAR) doses.

Main Results:

• KBP-generated RT plans demonstrated superior quality compared to submitted plans.
• KBP intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans reduced plan quality variations.
• The KBP tool was effective for RT plan QA in multi-center clinical trials.

Conclusions:

• KBP models can significantly enhance RT plan quality for brain and head/neck cancers in clinical trials.
• KBP IMPT offers a potential tool for developing improved proton therapy plans and reducing plan quality variability.
• KBP is a valuable instrument for ensuring RT plan quality assurance in multi-center settings.