Purpose
To compare post-implant dosimetric parameters of computed tomography (CT)-guided radioactive iodine-125 (
125
I) seed (RIS) implantation assisted with and without three-dimensional printing non-coplanar template (3D-PNCT) in locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC).
Material and methods
One hundred and fifty-five LRRC patients treated by CT-guided RIS implantation assisted with or without 3D-PNCT from October 2003 to May 2019 were included in this study. Propensity score matching (PSM) method (1 : 1) was used to adjust for differences between the 3D-group (with 3D-PNCT) and the CT-group (without 3D-PNCT). After PSM, dosimetric parameters [D
90
(dose that covered 90% of target volume), D
100
(dose that covered 100% of target volume), V
100
(percentage of gross tumor volume (GTV) receiving 100% of prescription dose), V
150
(percentage of GTV receiving 150% of prescription dose), HI (homogeneity index), CI (conformity index), and EI (external index)] of the two groups were compared.
Results
After PSM, 45 pairs of matched cases were selected for analysis and differences in variables between the two groups were balanced. For the 3D-group, median values of D
90
, D
100
, V
100
, V
150
, EI, and HI were 142.6 Gy (73.7-218.2 Gy), 73.7 Gy (26.2-169.3 Gy), 94.1% (74.3-100%), 71.8% (35.4-98.3%), 0.7 (0.1-30.7), and 0.20 (0-0.60), respectively, and corresponding values were 119.9 Gy (39.8-159.3 Gy), 47.0 Gy (13.0-200.9 Gy), 89.9% (38.6-100%), 62.8% (14.8-100%), 0.39 (0-11.01), and 0.30 (0-0.95), respectively, for the CT-group. Parameters including D
90
, D
100
, V
100
, V
150
, and EI in the 3D-group were significantly higher than those in the CT-group (
p
< 0.001,
p
< 0.001,
p
< 0.001,
p
< 0.001, and
p
= 0.006, respectively).
Conclusions
3D-PNCT can improve the accuracy of radioactive seed implantation by increasing the dose delivered to the tumor and reducing the number of “cold” spots of dose.