OPTIMIZATION OF THE NUMBER OF RADIATION FIELDS IN IMRT PLANNING FOR NASOPHARYNGEAL CANCER CASES

• Main Author: Senja Alfitra, Lira
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/68402
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Cancer is one of the deadliest non-communicable diseases in the world. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) or commonly called nasopharyngeal cancer is one example of malignant cancer in Indonesia. One of the therapies that can be used for the treatment of NPC is radiotherapy. Radiotherapy uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiotherapy is carried out by imaging the patient's body using a CT scan or MRI, then radiotherapy planning is carried out using the Treatment Planning System (TPS). Radiotherapy planning technology has evolved from 2-dimensional techniques to 3-dimensional techniques. Supported by the development of TPS computers and radiation irradiation equipment, the 3-dimensional technique then developed the Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) technique. The formulation of the problem in this study is how the influence of the number of radiation fields in radiotherapy planning in cases of nasopharyngeal cancer using the IMRT technique on the distribution dose to the target tumor and dose to organs at risk around the target. The purpose of this study was to analyze the results of treatment planning for nasopharyngeal cancer using IMRT techniques related to the use of different radiation fields. The treatment planning parameters assessed were Dose Volume Histogram (DVH) along with DVH statistics, Conformity Index (CI), and Homogenity Index (HI). The TPS used was TPS Monaco with the Monte Carlo algorithm and the inverse planning method. The results of this study indicate that for cases of nasopharyngeal cancer, the most optimal number of fields is produced in planning with 9 radiation fields. When viewed from the average dose received by OAR, there was no significant difference in planning with 7 fields and 9 radiation fields.