Threshold doses and prediction of visually apparent liver dysfunction after stereotactic body radiation therapy in cirrhotic and normal livers using magnetic resonance imaging

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the threshold dose for focal liver damage after stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in cirrhotic and normal livers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A total of 64 patients who underwent SBRT for liver tumors, including 54 cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 10 non-cirrhotic patients with liver metastases, were analyzed. MRI was performed 3−6 months after SBRT, using gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced T1-weighted sequences. All MRI datasets were merged with 3D dosimetry data. All dose distributions were corrected to the biologically effective dose using the linear–quadratic model with an assumed α/β ratio of 2 Gy. The development of liver dysfunction was validly correlated with isodose distribution. The median biologically effective dose (BED(2)) that provoked liver dysfunction was 57.3 (30.0−227.9) and 114.0 (70.4−244.9) Gy in cirrhotic and normal livers, respectively (P = 0.0002). The BED(2) associated with a >5% risk of liver dysfunction was 38.5 in cirrhotic livers and 70.4 Gy in normal livers. The threshold BED(2) for liver dysfunction was not significantly different between Child−Pugh A and B patients (P = 0.0719). Moreover, the fractionation schedule was not significantly correlated with threshold BED(2) for liver dysfunction in the cirrhotic liver (P = 0.1019). In the cirrhotic liver, fractionation regimen and Child−Pugh classification did not significantly influence the threshold BED(2) for focal liver damage after SBRT. We suggest that the threshold BED(2) for liver dysfunction after SBRT is 40 and 70 Gy in the cirrhotic and normal liver, respectively.