A Comparison of Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy With Simultaneous Integrated Boost With Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy With Sequential Boost for Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer: A Dosimetric Study

Objective The aim of this study was to compare the dosimetric criteria between the intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) technique with a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) and the three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) technique with a sequential boost (SB) plans for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC). Materials and methods A retrospective dosimetric comparison was performed in 15 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer who had previously been treated with fractions of 1.8 Gy up to doses of 45, 54-55.8, and 59.4 Gy in 28-33 sessions using the three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) technique with a sequential boost (SB) and who had a new planning that was made using the intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) technique with a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) in 25 sessions. The conformity index, quality of coverage, homogeneity index, mean doses, maximum doses, and different organ at risk (OAR) dose constraints were calculated for the dosimetric comparison of treatment plans. Descriptive analysis was performed using measures of central tendency and dispersion for the quantitative variables and absolute and relative frequencies for the qualitative variables. The comparison was made using the Wilcoxon signed rank sum test for a type I error level of 0.05. The statistical software Stata 11 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, Texas, USA) was used in the analysis. Results The mean age of the patients was 52 years, 33% were stage IIIB, and 67% had squamous cell carcinomas. The conformity index was 0.74 and 0.46 (difference: 0.28; p<0.01), the quality of coverage was 0.84 and 0.94 (difference: -0.10; p<0.01), and the homogeneity index was 0.12 and 0.070 (difference: 0.052; p<0.01) for IMRT-SIB and 3DCRT-SB, respectively. When the mean doses of the OARs were compared, all were lower with the IMRT-SIB technique, with statistically significant differences in the rectum and bladder. Conclusions The IMRT-SIB technique achieves a greater conformation of the doses on the treatment volumes with a significant reduction of the doses on the bladder and rectum.