Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Medical Dosimetry, cilt.51, sa.1, ss.91-102, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Radiotherapy (RT) treatment planning requires the evaluation of multiple, often conflicting dosimetric and clinical parameters. Traditional tools such as dose-volume histograms and isodose maps continue to play a valuable role in clinical evaluation; however, these tools do not support the comparison of complex datasets. Therefore, evaluating the planning parameters may exceed the cognitive capacity of clinicians to interpret the information effectively. This study proposes a structured multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) framework to facilitate objective and systematic selection of optimal RT treatment plans, enhancing the consistency of clinical evaluations. Whole left breast RT plans were generated using 3 external RT modalities – 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy Field-in-Field, Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy, and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy. Nine plans – 3 per modality, reflecting varying clinical quality levels: good, moderate and poor – were accomplished using an anthropomorphic female phantom. Evaluation criteria encompassed target volume dose-volume parameters, treatment plan parameters and organ-at-risk constraints. Objective weights were assigned using the CRITIC method. Five MCDM techniques were employed to rank the plans, and the results were aggregated using arithmetic mean and the COPELAND method. The rankings compared with a clinically derived reference ranking. COPRAS, ARAS, TOPSIS, and WASPAS showed strong agreement with the reference ranking, while GRA produced less consistent results. This study effectively demonstrates the feasibility of employing MCDM methods to provide a systematic, reliable, and data-driven framework for the selection of optimal radiotherapy treatment plans. The software developed for this purpose, designed to work with the Varian Eclipse Treatment Planning System, has the potential to support clinical decision-making by offering objective plan comparisons. Future studies should extend this approach by incorporating actual patient data instead of an anthropomorphic phantom, as well as by including different anatomical treatment sites to enhance clinical applicability and generalizability.