Dosimetric effects of the ipsilateral shoulder position variations in the sitting-positioned boron neutron capture therapy for lower neck tumor

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate dosimetric effects of ipsilateral shoulder position variations (ISPVs) in sitting-positioned boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for lower neck tumor. The ISPVs were simulated using deformed shoulder images that can simulate arbitrary shape. The dose-volume parameters for the tumor in the rotated shoulder plans considerably varied compared with that for the mucosa. Even in a small number of cases, these differences were clearly observed among patients. The ISPVs in lower neck BNCT have great dosimetric effects.

Keywords: BNCT; Head and neck cancer; Reproducibility error; Setup error; Sitting position.