Aim:
We aimed to evaluate the dosimetric influence of Acuros XB (AXB) dose-to-medium (D
m
) and dose-to-water (D
w
) reporting mode on carcinoma cervix using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and RapidArc (RA) technique.
Materials and Methods:
A cohort of thirty patients cared for carcinoma cervix was retrospectively selected for the study. Plans were computed using analytical anisotropic algorithm (AAA), AXB-D
m
, and AXB-D
w
algorithms for dosimetric comparison. A paired
t
-test and Pitman–Morgan dispersion test were executed to appraise the difference in mean values and the inter-patient variability of the differences.
Results:
The dose–volume parameters were higher for AXB-D
w
in contrast to AAA for IMRT and RA plans, excluding D
98%
, minimum dose to planning target volume (PTV) and rectum mean dose (RA). There was no systematic trend observed in dose–volume parameters for PTV and organs at risk (OARs) between AXB-D
m
and AXB-D
w
for IMRT and RA plans. The dose–volume parameters for target were higher for AXB-D
m
in comparison to AAA in IMRT and RA plans, except D
98%
and minimum dose to PTV. Analysis envisaged less inter-patient variability while switching from AAA to AXB-D
m
in comparison to those switching from AAA to AXB-D
w
.
Conclusions:
The present study reveals the important difference between AAA, AXB-D
m
, and AXB-D
w
computations for cervix carcinoma using IMRT and RA techniques. The inter-patient variability and systematic difference in dose–volume parameters computed using AAA, AXB-D
m
, and AXB-D
w
algorithms present the possible impact on the dose prescription to PTV and their relative constraints to OARs for IMRT and RA techniques. This may help in the decision-making in clinic while switching from AAA to AXB (D
m
or D
w
) algorithm for cervix carcinoma using IMRT and RA techniques.