Abstract

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Title:: Method and implementation of structure nomenclature standardization in intensity-modulated radiotherapy of head and neck tumors

Author(s):: YOU Yiqi1; 2; ZHENG Wanjia1; 2; ZHENG Zhiman1; 2; HUANG Shen1; 2; LU Shipei1; ZHANG Jun1; LI Cunxiao1; TAO Yalan1; LIN Chengguang1; YANG Xin1; HUANG Xiaoyan1; XIA Yunfei1; 1. Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Guangzhou 510060, China; 2. Xinhua College of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510520, China

Keywords:: ; Keywords: head and neck tumors; intensity-modulated radiotherapy; structure nomenclatures; standardization

Abstract:: Abstract: Objective To standardize naming conventions in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of head and neck tumors. Methods The radiotherapy plans of 139 patients with head and neck tumors were randomly selected in the study, and the structure files were parsed and analyzed by self-programmed MATLAB software. All the structures were classified by the keywords which included target areas, organs-at-risk, derivative and planning structure. According to the protocol on the standardization of nomenclature for radiotherapy in AAPM TG 263 (The American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 263), the standardization rules for structure naming were established, and the automatic naming convention was implemented by the self-programmed software. Results In the DICOM Structure files of 139 patients, there were 7 044 structures in total, including 2 217 target structures (510 GTV, 431 CTV and 1 276 PTV), 4 069 organs-at-risk and 758 derivative and planning structures. The average number of structures for each patient was 50.68±15.43. The differences of structure nomenclatures were detected and successfully standardized through the self-programmed software. Conclusion The standardization of structure nomenclatures in radiotherapy of head and neck tumors prevents the confusion from inconsistency and inadequacy of nomenclatures, and avoids the errors in dosimetric calculations, thereby improving the quality and safety of radiotherapy.