To Study the Outcome of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) Treatment in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer, the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men, is a second-leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer in the United States. Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a standard approach for delivering high-precision radiation to the target while minimizing the damage to surrounding healthy tissues or Organs at Risk (OAR). This study utilized open-source radiotherapy computational systems--CERR (Computational Environment for Radiotherapy Research), matRad, and the Histogram Analysis in Radiation Therapy (HART) to design and evaluate IMRT treatment plan for prostate cancer. Using images from anonymized prostate cancer patients, treatment plans were generated in both CERR and matRad under standardized constraints and dose objectives. Target coverage, radiation dosage to OAR, plan conformity and indices, and does-volume histogram (DVH) were analyzed to compare the performance of each platform. Results show that these platforms can generate clinically viable IMRT plans with advanced visualization, evaluation tools, and optimization strategies. This study demonstrates the application of open-source software for research and education in IMRT radiation therapy and highlights the potential to integrate artificial intelligence guided treatment analysis into adaptive and automated treatment planning workflows for prostate cancer.