RTOG consensus guidelines and atlas for delineating upper abdominal normal organs. Citation checked against Europe PMC.
Liver
Dose constraints
Esophagus & GE Junction
| Schedule | Constraint | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 41.4 Gy / 23 fx Preoperative | Mean ≤28–30 Gy | eviQ 1861 |
| V30 Gy <30% | eviQ 1861 | |
| 50.4 Gy / 28 fx Definitive; also 50 Gy / 25 fx | Mean ≤28–30 Gy | eviQ 1865 |
| V30 Gy <30% | eviQ 1865 |
Assumes normal liver function.
Quoted from eviQ 1861 and eviQ 1865, checked 2026-09-29. Full table with references →
Pancreas
Assumes normal liver function; a mean under 20 Gy should be achievable.
Quoted from eviQ 3581, checked 2026-09-29. Full table with references →
Liver SBRT
| Schedule | Constraint | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 42–54 Gy / 3 fx Liver metastases | Mean ≤13 Gy (optimal), ≤15 Gy (mandatory) | UK SABR consensus 2022 |
| ≥700 cc of liver <15 Gy | LARK (TROG 17.03) | |
| 27.5–60 Gy / 5 fx HCC or metastases | Mean ≤13 Gy (optimal), ≤15.2 Gy (mandatory) | UK SABR consensus 2022 |
| ≥700 cc of liver <15 Gy | LARK (TROG 17.03) | |
| HCC: mean ≤13 Gy (50 Gy) to ≤17 Gy (27.5 Gy) | LARK (TROG 17.03) |
Liver minus GTV. For HCC, favor the optimal limits; limits assume Child-Pugh A.
Quoted from eviQ 4026 and eviQ 4024, checked 2026-09-29. Full table with references →
Anatomy
The largest solid organ in the abdomen, filling the right upper quadrant under the diaphragm and extending across the midline. It is divided into right, left, caudate and quadrate lobes and is supplied by the hepatic artery and portal vein, which enter with the bile duct at the porta hepatis. The liver moves with breathing, often by a centimeter or more.
Function in the body
The liver filters the blood, makes bile and many proteins, stores energy and clears drugs and toxins.
Why it matters
The liver is a parallel organ: it tolerates high dose to a small part as long as enough healthy liver is spared. The classic toxicity is radiation-induced liver disease (RILD), weeks to months after treatment.
- Conventional upper GI plans (esophagus, pancreas): the liver sits next to lower esophageal, junctional and pancreatic targets, so its mean dose and the volume above 30 Gy are checked.
- Liver SBRT: limits are written for the liver minus the GTV, as a mean dose and as a minimum volume of liver that must stay below a set dose. Tolerance is lower in patients with cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma, so limits depend on liver function (Child-Pugh score) and, in some protocols, on the prescription itself.
How to contour
Jabbour 2014 (RTOG upper abdominal consensus):
- Exclude the gallbladder.
- Exclude the inferior vena cava where it is separate from the liver.
- Portal vein: exclude it only where the caudate lobe (segment I) lies behind it; include it where segment I lies to its left. Branches of the portal vein and other vessels inside the liver are included.
Timmerman 2022 (Tables 8–11, written for its SBRT dose tables): right and left lobes as one structure, all liver tissue minus the GTV, the major draining ducts, the portal vein outside the liver, and the gallbladder.
An editorial history of the UT Southwestern SABR constraint tables — often called the “Timmerman tables” — covering how they were developed and revised, and their relationship to AAPM TG-101 and NRG/RTOG protocols. Tables 2–11 separate serial tissues (listed with a volume, a volume max and a max point dose) from parallel tissues (listed with a critical volume and a critical-volume dose max). In Tables 2–7 a footnote defines “point” as ≤0.035 cm³; Tables 8–11 add a contouring-instructions column for each structure.
Further reading
- QUANTEC summary — Use of normal tissue complication probability models in the clinic Source
- LARK (TROG 17.03) — Study protocol of the LARK (TROG 17.03) clinical trial: a phase II trial investigating the dosimetric impact of Liver Ablative Radiotherapy using Kilovoltage intrafraction monitoring Source
- UK SABR consensus 2022 — UK 2022 Consensus on Normal Tissue Dose-Volume Constraints for Oligometastatic, Primary Lung and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy Source
- Toesca 2017 — Central liver toxicity after SBRT: An expanded analysis and predictive nomogram Source