Delineation of the cardiac substructures based on PET-CT and contrast-enhanced CT in patients with left breast cancer treated with postoperative radiotherapy

The aim of this study is to evaluate the volume differences between contrast-enhanced CT-based left ventricle (LV) and PET-CT-based LV and assess the impact of dose on the substructure volume differences in patients with left breast cancer treated with adjuvant radiotherapy. From October 2008 to February 2009, 14 patients with post-operatively confrmed left breast cancer were enrolled in the current study. The patients were scanned using contrast-enhanced CT for simulation, and 18F-FDG PET-CT was employed to display the structure of the left ventricle of each before radiotherapy (RT). The LV was delineated based on both contrast-enhanced CT and PET-CT. And other substructures, such as the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), were contoured in each patient, with the six-feld simple intensity modulated radiotherapy (sIMRT) technique created for all. The mean volumes of the left ventricle based on contrast-enhanced CT (LV-CT) and PET-CT (LV-PET) were found to be 107.296 cm3 and 112.931 cm3, respectively (p = 0.06). The volume of LV receiving >50% prescription dose was signifcantly correlated with the volume of the heart receiving the same dosage (γ = 0.869). There was less correlation between the volume of LAD and that of the heart under the same condition (γ = 0.22). As a conclusion, the left ventricle can be delineated effectively based on the image of PET-CT, the contrast-enhanced CT based LV can serve as an appropriate alternative. Moreover, the volume of LV receiving high dose in RT closely correlated with the volume of the heart using sIMRT technique, which may pave the way for further exploring radiation-induced cardiac injuries in patients with left breast cancer.