Verification of Breast Cancer Tangential Field in External Irradiation

Abstract

Verification is a crucial process in radiotherapy because it assures the compatibility of treatment since the success of radiotherapy was judged by an error < ±5%.The treatment of tangential field needs and integration of several steps for accurate set up and perfect delivering of radiation dose. The main objective of this study was to verify the treatment plan of the tangential field of breast cancer patient using a portal film and contour as reference for 50 breast cancer patients in Radiation and Isotope Center of Khartoum (RICK) in period from December 2009 to May 2010. The study compared the breast area, exposed lung and the overshine area. The mentioned area was measured by using interactive method to trace out the outlines of the region of interest. The result of this study showed that the mean areas of the breast in the portal film and contour where 56.9cm2 and 63.8 cm2 respectively and that of the exposed lung was 21.2 and 23.2 cm and for over shine area was 31.2 cm2 and 29.3 cm2.