Hounsfield-based Automatic Evaluation of Volumetric Breast Density on Radiotherapy CT-Scans

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel automatic method to evaluate breast density from radiotherapy CT scans, aiming to identify patients at higher risk of side effects and improve personalized treatment planning.

Contribution

It introduces a new automated approach for assessing volumetric breast density using radiotherapy CT scans, which has not been previously explored.

Findings

Breast density correlates with radiation side effect risk.

The method enables automatic, reproducible density evaluation.

Potential for personalized radiotherapy planning.

Abstract

Radiotherapy is an integral part of treatment for many patients with breast cancer. However, side effects can occur, Example fibrosis or erythema. If patients at higher risks of radiation induced side effects could be identified before treatment, they could be given more individual information about the risks and benefits of radiotherapy. We hypothesise that breast density is correlated with the risk of side effects and present a novel method for automatic evaluation based on radiotherapy planning CT scans.