Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38737623›Full record

ArticleBJR open2024

Assessment of heart-substructures auto-contouring accuracy for application in heart-sparing radiotherapy for lung cancer.

Tom Marchant, Gareth Price, Alan McWilliam, Edward Henderson, Dónal McSweeney, Marcel van Herk, Kathryn Banfill, Matthias Schmitt, Jennifer King, Claire Barker and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BJR open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Cardiac substructure dosimetry in thoracic radiotherapy: moving beyond mean heart dose and toward precision cardiac risk mitigation.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Tom MarchantChristie Medical Physics & Engineering, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, M20 4BX, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3603-4275
Gareth PriceDivision of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
Alan McWilliamDivision of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
Edward HendersonDivision of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
Dónal McSweeneyDivision of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
Marcel van HerkDivision of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6448-898X
Kathryn BanfillDivision of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
Matthias SchmittDivision of Cardiovascular Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8514-0261
Jennifer KingDepartment of Clinical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, M20 4BX, United Kingdom.
Claire BarkerDepartment of Clinical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, M20 4BX, United Kingdom.
Corinne Faivre-FinnDivision of Cancer Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: We validated an auto-contouring algorithm for heart substructures in lung cancer patients, aiming to establish its accuracy and reliability for radiotherapy (RT) planning. We focus on contouring an amalgamated set of subregions in the base of the heart considered to be a new organ at risk, the cardiac avoidance area (CAA), to enable maximum dose limit implementation in lung RT planning. Methods: The study validates a deep-learning model specifically adapted for auto-contouring the CAA (which includes the right atrium, aortic valve root, and proximal segments of the left and right coronary arteries). Geometric, dosimetric, quantitative, and qualitative validation measures are reported. Comparison with manual contours, including assessment of interobserver variability, and robustness testing over 198 cases are also conducted. Results: Geometric validation shows that auto-contouring performance lies within the expected range of manual observer variability despite being slightly poorer than the average of manual observers (mean surface distance for CAA of 1.6 vs 1.2 mm, dice similarity coefficient of 0.86 vs 0.88). Dosimetric validation demonstrates consistency between plans optimized using auto-contours and manual contours. Robustness testing confirms acceptable contours in all cases, with 80% rated as "Good" and the remaining 20% as "Useful." Conclusions: The auto-contouring algorithm for heart substructures in lung cancer patients demonstrates acceptable and comparable performance to human observers. Advances in knowledge: Accurate and reliable auto-contouring results for the CAA facilitate the implementation of a maximum dose limit to this region in lung RT planning, which has now been introduced in the routine setting at our institution.

Indexed as

artificial intelligence in RTauto-contouringheart substructureslung radiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID38737623
PMCPMC11087931

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.