Gyne brachy Flashcards
why not use TRUS with gyne?
-can’t see where you are going with US
-gyne organs move a lot- need large “PTV”
typical gyne treatment
45/25 EBRT and 28/4 brachy (whole treatment within 55 days)
how do you usually image standard gyne treatments?
CBCT on unit (this is why gyne is on side of bed where you can remove the bars so you can get good image)
size of needles
18 cm- 24 cm
Dr.Patil- tend to “push” longer needles in more
gyne images
fuse MRI with CT
-ideally would be on same couch
can you make a smaller Miami?
No, sources would be too close together
-can get hyperdose sleeve (200% isodose lines join together to make a sleeve)- can get necrosis
issue with patients who smoke
less oxygenation- healing is not as good
describe vaginal vault treatment
-patient awake
-no imaging
-Only the length to be treated and cylinder diameter need to be known. Depth to treat is 5 mm beyond the outermost edge of the cylinder.
when do you radiation survey the patient?
before and after treatment
tagert coverage
• Generally want target (or representative points) to receive doses between 95-105%, although 100% of volume receiving at least 90% is typical objective for volume based planning in brachytherapy.
o Representative points may include point A for cervix/uterus treatment, or points at 5 mm depth for vaginal vault.
o Point B, rectum point and bladder point are used to evaluate the dose distribution.
Manchester system points
This point is 2cm superior to the phlange (cervical os) and 2cm lateral to the tandem midline
Point A is a common prescription point corresponding, approximately, to the point where the uterine vessels cross the ureter. Radiation tolerance is of these structures are thought to be the main limiting factor in irradiating the uterine cervix.
Point B is another dose reporting point located 5cm lateral from the patient’s midline.
Point B is intended to be representative of the pelvic lymph node dose, hence its definition relative to the patient’s midline rather than the tandem’s midline.
Bladder Point is the point of highest dose in the bladder.
Bladder dose should be less than 80% of dose to point A.
Rectal Point is the point of highest dose in the rectum.
Rectum dose should be less than 80% of dose to point A.
In machester system, why is Point A relative to tandem whereas point B is relative to patient body?
point A (which represents the crossing of the uterine artery and the ureter) is best approximated relative to the uterus while point B (which represents the pelvic lymph nodes) is best approximated relative to the patient’s body. This difference can be significant when the uterus is tilted relative to the pelvis.
3 important points for brachy planning
time, path, position
cervical cancer: what is american brachy society reocmmendation for dose to point A (D90)
EQD2 85-90 Gy total (including EBRT)
for advanced stage
65-75 Gy for earlier stages
vault dose in this clinic
monotherapy: 21/3
11/2 brachy with 45/25 EBRT
ring and tandem: 28/4 HDR with 45/25 EBRT
OAR doses for gyne brachy
point B: 45-50 Gy for early stage, 54-60 Gy for advanced
HDR bladder and rectal points < 70 % of point A dose
dose to lower vagina vs upper vagina
lower vagina doses are lower as upper vagina has lower tolerance to radiation
LDR constraints for rectal and bladder point
rectal point < 70 Gy; bladder point < 75 Gy (rectum more radiosensitive than bladder; LDR constraints are less restrictive than HDR)
what vaginal doses cause fibrosis and stenosis
> 50-60 Gy
at what dose does ovarian failure occur?
5-10 Gy
with what dose does sterilization occur?
2-3 Gy
dose contraints for uterus
<100 Gy
dose constraint for ureter
< 75 Gy
dose constraint for femoral heads
<50 Gy
vaginal cancer dose
HDR boost of 4-6 Gy X 2 after 45/25 EBRT
7 Gy x 3 if only brachy
describe the vault treatment
single channel
series of disks about a tandem. Disks are 2-4 cm diameter. Typical is 3 cm.
treat 5 mm beyond the disk surface
should be snug within vagina so the mucosa is treated
why can’t you use vault to treat beyond 5 mm?
plan would be too hot
how does the disk size for the vault affect the plan?
large disk- difficult to get homogeneous dose at upper part because side has 2 cm diameter whereas top is only 12 mm (for 4 cm cylinder); top tends to be hot. Dr. Bowes likes to not include the first dwell position to improve homogeneity.
small disk- hard to get homogeneous dose
-larger disk = impact of IS differences along vault less significant since IS is less significant at larger distances
length treated with vault
usually 4-5 cm top of vagina
how to set up vault in Oncentra
-create empty image series since no imaging is used for vault
-set dome of cylinder as origiom
-7 mm below origin is dwell position 1, then sources are every 5 mm (could also make them every 2.5 mm)
-each disk is 2.5 cm long
-for example, if treating 4 cm, activate 8-9 dwell positions 0.5 mm apart
-set up points- one at 5 mm from top of dome and others at 5 mm lateral from each dwell position
-want dose at each point within 90-100% (10% of each other)
-end dwell positions have longer dwell times since there isn’t contribution from neighboring sources
-want symmetric distribution of dwell times
why are 3 cm vault cylinders easy to plan?
about the same IS distance for top dwell position vs side ones
why are channels 1 and 2 used only for ovoids and channel 3 only for tandem? (won’t connect to other transfer tubes)
if 1 and 2 are switched by accident, does to both ovoids about similar
If 1 or 2 is switched with 3, error is significant
why is top dwell position point in Rad Calc off from Oncentra?
differences in how the anisotropy is modelled- will see this error when end to source
describe workflow
patient under anasthesia
dorsal lothotomy position, catheter
doctor may use abdo US to help see the bladder and uterus- make sure sound is in uterus fully
doctor uses sound to measure uterus length and dilates uterus, also checks response to EBRT
ring and tandem inserted, sutured to patient
patient straightened out on bed- kV CBCT image taken
patient woken up
patient plan done in Oncentra
patient then trated (2 fractions over 2 days)- applicator removed
a week later the process is repeated for 2 more fractions
- some doctors use a smit sleeve to keep the uterus dilated for all 4 fractions
why is ring and tandem used over ovoid and tandem?
position is more stable with ring
with ovoid and packing, things can move around more
also with ring there is space on the side to put needles
when do you need to implant vagina with needles?
if vaginal disease more than 5 mm thick
gyne fractionation
45/25 EBRT,
700 cGy X 4 brachy
what is a sound
long stick with measurements etched on it
measure how long the uterus is
describe ring and tandem
doctor chooses angle and length of applicator and ring size
ring goes around external os
tandem goes into ring and into uterus
how is applicator sutured on?
weaved around the ends of the applicator
what is packing used for?
fill space with packing to keep applicator still
what is done with bladder during ring and tandem
baldder is filled for the CBCT image and the treatments
what is dummy
string with radio-opaque beads is slid into ring and tandem applicator so we can see them on the CBCT image
-markers don’t correspond to dwell positions
dwell position steps in gyne
5 mm
not 2.5 mm like prostate
can use 2.5 mm but make sure to still cover the required region
what is contoured for ring and tandem?
bladder
rectum
sigmoid
how to find ring and tandem in oncentra images
find center of ring and align with tandem
put cross-hair in center of ring
turn on “fine” to scroll in smaller increments
reconstruct on slices with brightest markers
vienna ring and tandem
3 holes on each side of ring to put needles in (to get vaginal disease if needed)
new models have holes throughout ring
some have needles angled at 15 degrees (like MUPIT) to cover parametrium
need MRI guided so tou can contour the needles with MRI (don’t have dummies for needles- cannot see where you are putting them)
can put copper sulfate solution in cathater to see the line in MRI
what is moulage brachy
vaginal mold- design implant for the patient
ring and tandem desired dose distribution
pear shaped
If not enough dwell positions along tandem, will get crease at end of pear
if too many, will get dip
number of channels for ovoid and tandem, ring and tandem
3 for oivoid and tandem
2 for ring and tandem
where to put dwell positions in ring and tandem
3 on each side of ring (mimic oivoid)
along tandem to base of ring (want flat shape at base of pear shape)
why is there 4 mm offset between ring dwell position and actual position in Oncentra?
based on observed discrepancy between dummy source and where actual source went during QA
wheer to create A points in ring and tandem?
align to top of os and to tandem
create A points 2 cm up and away
also create to points 24 cm away- should be about 0.5 cm (gets pear shape)
normalize dose to A points
also use the created points for RadCalc
how to adjust local dose with ring and tandem?
graphical local
manually pull in or out at points
how is coverage evaluated for ring and tandem?
points A
3 items to print for ring and tandem plan
plam, DVH, screen capture of images including 3D capture
what is paracervix?
connective tissue of the pelvix floor, extending from the uterine cervix
available ovoid diameters and uterine lengths
3 cm, 2.5 cm, 2 cm
uterine tube: 6, 4 or 2 cm