- Title
- A Feasibility Study on the Identification of Postlumpectomy Seromas by a Radiation Therapist Compared with That by Radiation Oncologists in Radiation Therapy Planning for Early Stage Breast Cancer
- Creator
- Oultram, Sharon; Dempsey, Shane
- Relation
- Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences Vol. 49, Issue 2, p. 173-178
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2018.02.055
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) simulation is currently used to identify the tumour bed in patients with early stage breast cancer requiring whole-breast and boost radiation therapy. Postlumpectomy breast seromas as visible on CT data have been identified as a proxy for the tumour bed. This study aims to quantify the incidence of postsurgical tumour bed seromas identified at CT simulation and report how well a radiation therapist (RT) is able to identify these seromas compared with those contoured by radiation oncologists (ROs). Methods and Materials: A study was undertaken on electronic patient records and the CT-simulation datasets of early stage breast cancer patients treated in 2013 at the Calvary Mater Newcastle to identify the presence of seromas. Patient and tumour characteristics were reviewed. Data analysed included seroma volumes, as contoured by the ROs, as part of the standard voluming procedure. One RT rated seroma visibility based on the level of difficulty when viewing the seroma. Results: Out of 108 CT datasets, an RT was able to identify the presence of a seroma in 102 cases vs. 104 as contoured by ROs. The number of observed agreements was 106 (98.15% of the observations), and the number of agreements expected by chance was 98.4 (91.15% of the observations). The Kappa statistics equalled 0.791 (SE of kappa = 0.143). The strength of agreement is considered to be "substantial." Conclusion: RTs play an integral role in contouring during the planning process, and there is scope to expand this role. This research introduced the first step by confirming that a radiation therapist is able to identify seromas on CT-simulation data when compared those contoured by an RO.
- Subject
- radiotherapy; computed tomography; tumour bed; boost; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1446317
- Identifier
- uon:42830
- Identifier
- ISSN:1939-8654
- Language
- eng
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