Comparison of EPID portal dosimetry verification and RadCalc dose verification for VMAT treatment plans

Abstract

Introduction. Dosimetry verification is required before starting each treatment. The legal regulations do not clearly define one method of plan verification. Therefore, it is allowed to perform measurements (electronic portal imaging device [EPID]) or calculations using an independent system. Portal dosimetry using EPID matrices was compared with the RadCalcTM system v. 7.1.4.1, performing independent dose distribution calculations. Materials and methods. Treatment plans were made for 150 patients treated with the photon 6MV VMAT technique. Three groups of patients were studied: those treated for breast cancer, those treated for prostate cancer, and those irradiated to the prostate area with nodes. Then, the dosimetry verification was carried out on the accelerator using the EPID portal and compared with the independent RadCalc software calculation results. Results. Comparison of tumor proportion score (TPS) vs. EPID and vs. RC calculations for breast, prostate, and prostate with nodes showed no significant statistical differences. Regardless of the size (volume) of the clinical target volume (CTV) area, no significant difference was observed, although there was a greater agreement for large CTVs compared to small ones. Similarly, there was no significant difference in the compared methods based on depth, but there was a better agreement for small depths than large ones. Conclusions. Verification methods in the study groups showed compliance of the measured (EPID) and calculated (RadCalc) doses with the values planned in the TPS. This confirms that verification for patients treated with radiotherapy can be performed with any of these methods. However, for radiosurgical techniques, it is better to use the EPID method because the RadCalc method may give false negative results.