Helical tomotherapy versus conventional radiation to deliver abdominopelvic radiation.

While whole abdominopelvic radiation (APRT) provided satisfactory radiation dosimetry for the treatment of cancers with peritoneal dissemination, APRT was abandoned due to unsatisfactory tumor control from necessary radiation shielding of vital organs. Our goal was to develop a helical tomotherapy (TOMO) abdominopelvic radiation technique improving target tissue coverage while dose-limiting vital organs, especially hematopoietic bone marrow. This study reports our clinical development of a TOMO abdominopelvic radiation technique for treatment of patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer. Novel chemoradiosensitizing agent clinical trials incorporating our TOMO abdominopelvic radiation technique for treatment of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer are under development.