Whole-pelvic radiotherapy with spot-scanning proton beams for uterine cervical cancer: a planning study

The aim of this study was to compare the dosimetric parameters of whole-pelvic radiotherapy (WPRT) for cervical cancer among plans involving 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), or spot-scanning proton therapy (SSPT). The dose distributions of 3D-CRT-, IMRT-, and SSPT-based WPRT plans were compared in 10 patients with cervical cancer. All of the patients were treated with a prescribed dose of 50.4 Gy in 1.8-Gy daily fractions, and all of the plans involved the same planning target volume (PTV) constrictions. A 3D-CRT plan involving a four-field box, an IMRT plan involving seven coplanar fields, and an SSPT plan involving four fields were created. The median PTV D95% did not differ between the 3D-CRT, IMRT and SSPT plans. The median conformity index 95% and homogeneity index of the IMRT and SSPT were better than those of the 3D-CRT. The homogeneity index of the SSPT was better than that of the IMRT. SSPT resulted in lower median V20 values for the bladder wall, small intestine, colon, bilateral femoral heads, skin, and pelvic bone than IMRT. Comparing the Dmean values, SSPT spared the small intestine, colon, bilateral femoral heads, skin and pelvic bone to a greater extent than the other modalities. SSPT can reduce the irradiated volume of the organs at risk compared with 3D-CRT and IMRT, while maintaining excellent PTV coverage. Further investigations of SSPT are warranted to assess its role in the treatment of cervical cancer.