Inter-observer and intra-observer reliability for lung cancer target volume delineation in the 4D-CT era

Background and purpose: To investigate inter-observer and intra-observer target volume delineation (TVD) error in 4D-CT imaging of thoracic tumours.

Materials and methods: Primary and nodal gross tumour volumes (GTV) of 10 lung tumours on the 10 respiratory phases of a 4D-CT scan were contoured by six radiation oncologist observers. Inter-observer and intra-observer variability were assessed by the coefficient of variation (COV) and the volume overlap index (VOI). ANOVA was performed to assess differences in inter-observer and intra-observer variability based on patient case difficulty, respiratory phase, physician seniority, and physician observer.

Results: VOI analysis determined that inter-observer was a more significant source of error than intra-observer variability. VOI improved with the use of 4D-CT as compared to conventional CT. ANOVA analysis for COVs found case difficulty (easy versus difficult) to be significant for inter-observer primary tumour and intra-observer nodal disease delineation. Physician seniority, respiratory phase, and individual physician were not found to be significant for TVD error.

Conclusion: Variability in TVD is a major source of error in 4D-CT treatment planning. Development of measures to reduce inter-observer and intra-observer TVD variability are necessary in order to deliver high quality radiotherapy.