Comparison of photon interaction coefficients for tumor compositions and healthy tissues simulated by Monte Carlo

Abstract

This study compares interaction coefficients of photons (namely, mass attenuation, energy absorption and energy transfer coefficients) for some tumor tissues with simlar healthy tissues. Monte Carlo calculations were performed for adenoidcystic carcinoma, melanoma, rectal adenocarcinoma, sarcoma and squamous cell lung carcinoma. The simulation model involved a monoenergetic point source producing a pencil beam. Depending on the parameter under study, average flux, energy flux, or dose deposition from photons that travels in an absorber were scored in the range of 10 keV–20 MeV energy using MCNP6.1. The same model was used to compute the interaction coefficients of health tissues (namely, gastrointestinal tract-small intestine wall, lungs-parenchyma, salivary glands, skin, soft tissue (female+male)) for comparison purposes. The results showed that, depending on the contents of the tumor samples, photon interaction coefficients of a tumor may differ from those of a similar healthy tissue. This behavior was distinct, especially for energies up to 100 keV, and was attributed to the presence of relatively higher atomic number elements in the absorber.