A free software for the evaluation and comparison of dose response models in clinical radiotherapy (DORES)

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this work was to develop a user-friendly and simple tool for fast and accurate estimation of Normal Tissue Complication Probabilities (NTCP) for several radiobiological models, which can be used as a valuable complement to the clinical experience. Materials and methods: The software which has been named DORES (Dose Response Evaluation Software) has been developed in Visual Basic, and includes three NTCP models (Lyman-Kuther-Burman (LKB), Relative Seriality and Parallel). Required input information includes the Dose-Volume Histogram (DVH) for the Organs at Risk (OAR) of each treatment, the number of fractions and the total dose of therapy. Results: NTCP values are computed, and subsequently placed in a spreadsheet file for further analysis. A Dose Response curve for every model is automatically generated. Every patient of the study population can be found on the curve since by definition their corresponding dose-response points fall exactly on the theoretical dose-response curve, when plotted on the same diagram. Conclusion: Distributions of absorbed dose alone do not provide information on the biological response of tissues to irradiation, so the use of this software may aid in the comparison of outcomes for different treatment plans or types of treatment, and also aid the evaluation of the sensitivity of different model predictions to uncertainties in parameter values. This was illustrated in a clinical case of breast cancer radiotherapy.