Implications of Histogram Analysis in Radiation Therapy (HART) Software

Abstract

Intensity modulation radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced state-of-the-art technique for radiation therapy treatment of cancer. X-ray beams with variable photon energies of 4-20 MV are fundamentally used to deliver radiation from LINAC into the tumor targets routinely based on the nature and stage of the disease. The radiation delivery process would result in the periodic death of the clonogenic cells in the malignant tumors following the treatments. Such treatments are basically planned and simulated in the treatment planning system prior to the clinical implementation in the patients. The outcome of such treatments can be evaluated by assessing the dose volume histograms (DVHs) for various tumor targets and the critical structures in IMRT treatment plans. An in-house built software called Histogram Analysis in Radiation Therapy (HART) [1] was utilized for DVH assessments, plan indices evaluations, dose response modeling for various organs, and the radiation toxicity analysis in critical organs of twenty head and neck cancer patients treated with sequential IMRT boost (SqIB) techniques at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. DVH analysis module is the most common application in HART. In addition to it, it also offers spatial DVH analysis, plan-indices evaluation tool box, and biological model based outcome analysis modules. Furthermore, HART is an useful tool for various clinical applications in radiation therapy treatment of cancer. It also provides a strong support for radiotherapy research, and it is freely available to the radiation oncology community [2].