Dosimetric Comparison of Different Planning Techniques in Left-sided Whole-Breast Irradiation: A Planning Study

PURPOSE: This planning study compared the various dosimetric parameters of different types of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) techniques for left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Treatment of 22 left-sided breast cases was planned using two IMRT and VMAT techniques for the prescription of 40 Gy in 15 fractions. For tangential IMRT (Tan_IMRT), five beams were placed as conventional tangential beams. For equally spaced IMRT (Equi_IMRT), six beams were placed equidistantly at 40° interval from 300° to 140°. For tangential VMAT (Tan_VMAT), two arcs were used with the avoidance sector in such a way that the beam covered like tangential fields. For full-arc VMAT (Full_VMAT), similar arcs as Tan_VMAT were used, without avoidance sector. All treatment plans were generated using Eclipse planning system for TrueBeam STx linear accelerator. For planning target volume (PTV), dose parameters including D(95%), D(99%), V(105%) homogeneity index (HI), and conformity index (CI) were analyzed. Different dose parameters for the left lung, heart, left anterior descending artery (LAD), right lung, and right breast were also analyzed. In addition, low-dose spillage in the normal tissues and the number of monitor units (MUs) required for the treatment were compared. RESULTS: IMRT technique exhibited superior D(95%) and D(99%) for PTV compared with VMAT techniques. VMAT plans provided more V(105%) (6%) compared with that of IMRT plans (approximately 1%). HI was better in IMRT plans (Tan_IMRT, 0.085 ± 0.015; Equi_IMRT, 0.094 ± 0.011) than in VMAT plans. CI was better in VMAT plans. The mean lung dose (7.7 Gy ± 1.788 Gy) and V(5Gy) (34.99% ± 6.799%) were better achieved in Tan_IMRT plan than other plans. Right lung, heart, and right breast sparing were better achieved in Tan_IMRT plan. Moreover, low-dose spillage was very less in the Tan_IMRT compared with all other techniques. CONCLUSION: Dosimetric comparison in this study showed that tangential IMRT technique is superior in terms of target coverage, sparing of lung, heart, and right breast, and low-dose spillage control in the left-sided breast-only radiotherapy.