The importance of three-dimensional brachytherapy treatment planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

High dose rate (HDR) intracavitary brachytherapy is now more frequently incorporated into treatment programmes for patients with persistent and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, many centres still employ two-dimensional (2-D) image reconstruction for applicators with a three-dimensional (3-D) orientation. In this study, we introduced the use of a mobile modified Nucletron reconstruction box inside the brachytherapy suite for image reconstruction and quality assurance. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the applicators' configurations proved possible and the dose distributions generated by the 2-D and 3-D image reconstructions could be compared. Thirty-one applications were included in this part of the analysis. The results showed that, based on the 2-D planning method, the reference doses were under-prescribed by 1%-10% in all except one patient, whose dose was over-prescribed by 3%. The evaluated doses to the floor of the sphenoid, which was shown to be significant for subsequent local control, was shown to be underestimated by up to 19% or overestimated by 18%, with an average of 5.9% dose underestimation. With this system, the reliability of the anchoring techniques was verified by posttherapy radiographs. Any catheter displacement of more than 1 mm was counted as a failure. Nine of the 43 verified applications were classified as failures, although six of nine catheter displacements measured < or = 2.5 mm. We recommend the routine use of a modified reconstruction box for 3-D image reconstruction for dose calculation and prescription in the treatment of NPC with HDR intracavitary brachytherapy. Quality assurance programmes should be included as an integral part of any HDR treatment; their importance cannot be overemphasized.