Systematic implementation of rapidplan for prostate cancer: toward a unified knowledge-based planning model

Area of Science:

• Radiation Oncology
• Medical Physics
• Cancer Treatment Planning

Background:

• Prostate cancer treatment planning involves complex prescription protocols.
• Current manual planning methods can be time-consuming and variable.
• The need for efficient and standardized treatment planning models is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a unified knowledge-based planning (KBP) model for RapidPlan (RP) to manage all institutional prostate cancer prescriptions.
• To compare the performance of the unified RP model against manual planning and simpler RP configurations.
• To assess the impact of the unified RP model on treatment plan quality and planning efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Development of sequential RP models (RP_46, RP_30, RP_46+30, RP_Seq) and a simultaneous integrated boost model (RP_SIB).
• Integration of RP_Seq and RP_SIB models to create a unified RP_UNI model.
• Comparison of RP configurations with manual planning using patient cohorts (10-25 patients).

Main Results:

• All evaluated RP models met clinical requirements for prostate cancer treatment.
• The unified RP_UNI model significantly reduced the irradiated peritoneal cavity volume by approximately 18%.
• The RP_UNI model achieved a 66% reduction in planning time compared to the manual method.

Conclusions:

• A unified KBP model (RP_UNI) successfully integrated all 11 prostate cancer prescriptions, demonstrating efficiency across various complexities and techniques.
• The RP_UNI model offers significant improvements in planning time and plan quality, making it suitable for clinical implementation.
• This study highlights the potential of unified KBP models to standardize and optimize radiation therapy planning for prostate cancer.