Zero-Shot Large Language Model Agents for Fully Automated Radiotherapy Treatment Planning

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Yang, Dongrong, Wu, Xin, Xie, Yibo, Li, Xinyi, Wu, Qiuwen, Wu, Jackie, Sheng, Yang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Yang, Dongrong
Wu, Xin
Xie, Yibo
Li, Xinyi
Wu, Qiuwen
Wu, Jackie
Sheng, Yang
author_facet Yang, Dongrong
Wu, Xin
Xie, Yibo
Li, Xinyi
Wu, Qiuwen
Wu, Jackie
Sheng, Yang
contents Radiation therapy treatment planning is an iterative, expertise-dependent process, and the growing burden of cancer cases has made reliance on manual planning increasingly unsustainable, underscoring the need for automation. In this study, we propose a workflow that leverages a large language model (LLM)-based agent to navigate inverse treatment planning for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The LLM agent was implemented to directly interact with a clinical treatment planning system (TPS) to iteratively extract intermediate plan states and propose new constraint values to guide inverse optimization. The agent's decision-making process is informed by current observations and previous optimization attempts and evaluations, allowing for dynamic strategy refinement. The planning process was performed in a zero-shot inference setting, where the LLM operated without prior exposure to manually generated treatment plans and was utilized without any fine-tuning or task-specific training. The LLM-generated plans were evaluated on twenty head-and-neck cancer cases against clinical manual plans, with key dosimetric endpoints analyzed and reported. The LLM-generated plans achieved comparable organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing relative to clinical plans while demonstrating improved hot spot control (Dmax: 106.5% vs. 108.8%) and superior conformity (conformity index: 1.18 vs. 1.39 for boost PTV; 1.82 vs. 1.88 for primary PTV). This study demonstrates the feasibility of a zero-shot, LLM-driven workflow for automated IMRT treatment planning in a commercial TPS. The proposed approach provides a generalizable and clinically applicable solution that could reduce planning variability and support broader adoption of AI-based planning strategies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_11754
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Zero-Shot Large Language Model Agents for Fully Automated Radiotherapy Treatment Planning
Yang, Dongrong
Wu, Xin
Xie, Yibo
Li, Xinyi
Wu, Qiuwen
Wu, Jackie
Sheng, Yang
Medical Physics
Artificial Intelligence
Robotics
Radiation therapy treatment planning is an iterative, expertise-dependent process, and the growing burden of cancer cases has made reliance on manual planning increasingly unsustainable, underscoring the need for automation. In this study, we propose a workflow that leverages a large language model (LLM)-based agent to navigate inverse treatment planning for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The LLM agent was implemented to directly interact with a clinical treatment planning system (TPS) to iteratively extract intermediate plan states and propose new constraint values to guide inverse optimization. The agent's decision-making process is informed by current observations and previous optimization attempts and evaluations, allowing for dynamic strategy refinement. The planning process was performed in a zero-shot inference setting, where the LLM operated without prior exposure to manually generated treatment plans and was utilized without any fine-tuning or task-specific training. The LLM-generated plans were evaluated on twenty head-and-neck cancer cases against clinical manual plans, with key dosimetric endpoints analyzed and reported. The LLM-generated plans achieved comparable organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing relative to clinical plans while demonstrating improved hot spot control (Dmax: 106.5% vs. 108.8%) and superior conformity (conformity index: 1.18 vs. 1.39 for boost PTV; 1.82 vs. 1.88 for primary PTV). This study demonstrates the feasibility of a zero-shot, LLM-driven workflow for automated IMRT treatment planning in a commercial TPS. The proposed approach provides a generalizable and clinically applicable solution that could reduce planning variability and support broader adoption of AI-based planning strategies.
title Zero-Shot Large Language Model Agents for Fully Automated Radiotherapy Treatment Planning
topic Medical Physics
Artificial Intelligence
Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.11754