Effect of Rind-Based Dosimetric Techniques for Scalp Dose Reduction in Brain Irradiation

In a retrospective evaluation of ten brain tumor treatment plans, rind-based dosimetric techniques were found to significantly reduce scalp dose during brain irradiation, potentially decreasing the incidence of radiation-induced alopecia. The study involved patients with a median age of 58, 70% of whom were female, and included histologies of gliomas (n=7) and meningiomas (n=3). The median distance from the planning tumor volume (PTV) to the skin surface was 13.5mm. Rind-based plans resulted in a median PTV minimum and mean dose of 88.63% and 104.39% of the prescription dose, respectively, and achieved a statistically significant reduction in scalp maximum and mean dose by 19.65% (p=2.72E-06) and 0.48% (p=0.007). The volume of scalp receiving 1500cGy-equivalent was significantly reduced by 3.88cc (p=0.03) with rind-based techniques. At a median follow-up of 28.5 days, only 40% (n=2) of patients treated with rind-based techniques showed acute alopecia, compared to 100% in the standard treatment group. These findings suggest that rind-based techniques can effectively reduce scalp dose and the incidence of alopecia in patients undergoing brain irradiation, and further research is recommended to explore this correlation.