Simulation-free cone beam CT-based online adaptive radiotherapy for metastatic spinal cord compression

A simulation-free approach, using the patient's diagnostic computed tomography (CT) for treatment planning, eliminates the need for a separate planning CT. Combined with conebeam computed tomography (CBCT)-guided online adaptive radiotherapy (oART), this strategy has the potential to create a more efficient treatment workflow and reduce the burden for the patients. The study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and time consumption of different simulation-free oART workflows for patients with metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) to identify the most suitable option for clinical implementation. Patient/material and methods: Diagnostic CT scans from patients diagnosed with MSCC were used for treatment planning, while CBCT scans from their first treatment session were retrospectively used to emulate the treatments. Four adaptive workflows were defined and assessed: Deformable Supervised (DefSup), Deformable Unsupervised (DefUn), Rigid Supervised (RigSup), and Rigid Unsupervised (RigUn). The supervised workflows involved manual corrections to the target structures, whereas the unsupervised workflows did not include any manual adjustments. Time stamps, segmentation quality, and dose plans were used to evaluate the feasibility of each workflow.

A total of 120 simulation-free emulations were performed (based on 27 patients with 30 target sites). The DefSup workflow yielded the highest accuracy in both segmentation and dose distribution. Additionally, with a median time consumption of 6.57 min, this workflow demonstrates a level of reliability and quality suitable for clinical application.

The DefSup workflow was found to be the most optimal and safe for clinical implementation, as demonstrated by the successful treatment of the first patient with MSCC using this approach.