The metabolic tumor volume (MTV) is the volume of metabolically-active tumor on PET/CT. Although its potential clinical value has been investigated in many cancers, its routine use has been hampered by the delineation method used to calculate the tumor volume. This may be especially difficult for fuzzyPET images. Previous studies have used a lot of approaches for delineation of tumor volume; ho...

PURPOSE To compare target volume delineation of anal cancer using positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with respect to inter-observer and inter-modality variability. METHODS Nineteen patients with anal cancer undergoing chemoradiotherapy were prospectively included. Planning computed tomography (CT) images were co-registered with 18F-fluorodexocyglucose (FDG...

Compact polymerized polydiacetylene-micelles with "stealth" zwitterionic surface coating were assembled and tested in a murine xenograft model of breast cancer. In vivo fluorescence imaging indicated accumulation in the tumor area and histological studies revealed predominant uptake of the micelles at the margins of the tumor, thereby allowing the delineation of its volume.

Accurate delineation of clinical target volume (CTV) is critical in the effective management of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of esophagus using radiation therapy. Accurate delineation may improve the probability of local control and reduce the risk of complications. However, there are no consistent standards on the proper size of the margins added to the gross tumor volume (GTV). Different ins...

A critical step in radiotherapy treatment planning process is to accurately locate the tumor and determine its extent. Variability in gross tumor volume (GTV) delineation is a major source of systematic error in conformal radiotherapy. CT scan is the principle source of imaging data used for defining GTV for planning conformal therapy. CT is widely available less costly and compatible with radi...

PET/CT imaging could improve delineation of rectal carcinoma gross tumor volume (GTV) and reduce interobserver variability. The objective of this work was to compare various functional volume delineation algorithms. We enrolled 31 consecutive patients with locally advanced rectal carcinoma. The FDG PET/CT and the high dose CT (CTRT) were performed in the radiation treatment position. For each p...

BACKGROUND To evaluate the impact of 18F-FDG PET/CT on target volume delineation in gynaecological cancer. METHODS F-FDG PET/CT based RT treatment planning was performed in 10 patients with locally recurrent (n = 5) or post-surgical residual gynaecological cancer (n = 5). The gross tumor volume (GTV) was defined by 4 experienced radiation oncologists first using contrast enhanced CT (GTVCT) a...

AbstractBackground and purpose For skull base tumors, target definition is the key to safe high-dose treatments because surrounding normal tissues are very sensitive radiation. In present work we established a joint ESTRO ACROP guideline for volume of tumors. Material methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed using various combinations followin...