Evaluation of Plan Quality Metrics in Stereotactic Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy in the Treatment Plans of Arteriovenous Malformations

AIM: Several plan quality metrics are available for the evaluation of stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy plans. This is a retrospective analysis of 60 clinical treatment plans of arteriovenous malformation (AVM) patients to study clinical usefulness of selected plan quality metrics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The treatment coverage parameters Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) Conformity Index (CI(RTOG)), RTOG Quality of Coverage (Q(RTOG)), RTOG Homogeneity Index (HI(RTOG)), Lomax Conformity Index (CI(Lomax)), Paddick's Conformity Index (CI(Paddick)), and dose gradient parameters Paddick's Gradient Index (GI(Paddick)) and Equivalent Fall-off Distance (EFOD) were calculated for the cohort of patients. Before analyzing patient plans, the influence of calculation grid size on selected plan quality metrics was studied on spherical targets. RESULTS: It was found that the plan quality metrics are independent of calculation grid size ≤2 mm. EFOD was found to increase linearly with increase in target volume, and a linear fit equation was obtained. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis shows that RTOG indices and EFOD would suffice for routine clinical radiosurgical treatment plan evaluation if a dose distribution is available for visual inspection.