Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

On the use of high dose rate {sup 192}Ir and {sup 169}Yb sources with the MammoSite registered radiation therapy system

Journal Article · · Medical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1118/1.2760306· OSTI ID:21032698
; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Medical Physics Department, Medical School, University of Athens, 75 Mikras Asias, 11527, Athens (Greece)
Ample literature exists on the dose overestimation by commercially available treatment planning systems in MammoSite registered applications using high dose rate {sup 192}Ir sources for partial breast brachytherapy as monotherapy, due to their inability to predict the dose reduction caused by the radiographic contrast solution in the balloon catheter. In this work Monte Carlo simulation is used to verify the dose rate reduction in a balloon breast applicator which does not vary significantly with distance and it is 1.2% at the prescription distance for the reference simulated geometry of 10% diluted radiographic contrast media and 2.5 cm balloon radius. Based on these findings and the minimal hardening of the initially emitted photon spectrum for {sup 192}Ir, a simple analytical method is proposed and shown capable for correcting dosimetry planning in clinical applications. Simulations are also performed to assess the corresponding dose reduction in applications of balloon breast applicators using high dose rate {sup 169}Yb sources that have recently become available. Results yield a far more significant and distance dependent dose reduction for {sup 169}Yb (on the order of 20% at the prescription distance for the abovementioned reference simulation geometry). This dose reduction cannot be accounted for using simple analytical methods as for {sup 192}Ir due to the significant hardening of the initially emitted {sup 169}Yb photons within the diluted radiographic contrast media. Combined with results of previous works regarding the effect of altered scatter conditions (relative to treatment planning system assumptions) on breast treatment planning accuracy, which is more pronounced for {sup 169}Yb relative to {sup 192}Ir, these findings call for the amendment of dose treatment planning systems before using {sup 169}Yb high dose rate sources in balloon breast applicators.
OSTI ID:
21032698
Journal Information:
Medical Physics, Journal Name: Medical Physics Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 34; ISSN 0094-2405; ISSN MPHYA6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English