The Dosimetric Effect of Intrafraction Prostate Motion on Step-and-Shoot Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Plans: Magnitude, Correlation With Motion Parameters, and Comparison With Helical Tomotherapy Plans

The dosimetric impact of intrafraction prostate motion on the CTV is, in general, small. In only 4% of all fractions did the dosimetric consequence exceed 1% in the CTV. As expected, the cumulative effect was further reduced with fractionation. The poor correlations between the calculated motion parameters and the subsequent dosimetric effect implies that motion-based thresholds are of limited value in predicting the dosimetric impact of intrafraction motion. The dosimetric effects between the two evaluated delivery techniques were poorly correlated.