Synchronized Contrast-Enhanced 4DCT Simulation for Target Volume Delineation in Abdominal SBRT.

Simple Summary: Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) is emerging as a promising, ablative, non-invasive alternative for treating liver and pancreatic tumors. The high conformality of SBRT, essential to minimize radiation-induced side effects on nearby gastrointestinal organs at risk while ensuring the delivery of high biologically effective doses to the tumor, makes the precise delineation of the target volume even more critical. While four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) remains the standard imaging modality for respiratory motion assessment, it often struggles to clearly visualize abdominal tumors due to poor contrast with the surrounding normal tissues in terms of Hounsfield Units (HUs). In this study, we report on our institutional approach to improve target volume delineation and respiratory motion management in abdominal SBRT planning by integrating 4DCT simulation with synchronized intravenous contrast injection. Background/Objectives: To present the technical aspects of contrast-enhanced 4DCT (ce4DCT) simulation for abdominal SBRT. Methods: Twenty-two patients underwent two sequential 4DCT scans: one baseline and one contrast-enhanced with personalized delay time (tdelay) calculated to capture the tumor in the desired contrast phase, based on diagnostic triple-phase CT. The internal target volume (ITV) was delineated on ten contrast phases, and a panel of three experts qualitatively evaluated tumor visibility. Aortic HU values were measured to refine the tdelay for subsequent patients. The commonly used approach of combining triple-phase CT with unenhanced 4DCT was simulated, and differences in target delineation were evaluated by volume, centroid shift, Dice and Jaccard indices, and mean distance agreement (MDA). The margins required to account for motion were calculated. Results: The ce4DCT acquisitions substantially improved tumor visibility over the entire breathing cycle in 20 patients, according to the experts' unanimous evaluation. The median contrast peak time was 54.5 s, and the washout plateau was observed at 70.3 s, with mean peak and plateau HU values of 292 ± 59 and 169 ± 25. The volumes from the commonly used procedure (ITV2) were significantly smaller than the ce4DCT volumes (ITV1) (p = 0.045). The median centroid shift was 4.7 mm. The ITV1-ITV2 overlap was 69% (Dice index), 53% (Jaccard index), and 2.89 mm (MDA), with the liver volumes showing significantly lower indices compared to the pancreatic volumes (p ≤ 0.011). The margins required to better encompass ITV1 were highly variable, with mean values ≥ 4 mm in all directions except for the left–right axis. Conclusions: The ce4DCT simulation was feasible, resulting in optimal tumor enhancement with minimal resource investment, while significantly mitigating uncertainties in SBRT planning by addressing poor visibility and respiratory motion. Triple-phase 3DCT with unenhanced 4DCT led to high variability in target delineation, making the isotropic margins ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]