Independent application of an analytical model for secondary neutron equivalent dose produced in a passive-scattering proton therapy treatment unit

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to independently apply an analytical model for equivalent dose from neutrons produced in a passive-scattering proton therapy treatment unit, H. To accomplish this objective, we applied the previously-published model to treatment plans of two pediatric patients. Their model accounted for neutrons generated by mono-energetic proton beams stopping in a closed aperture. To implement their model to a clinical setting, we adjusted it to account for the area of a collimating aperture, energy modulation, air gap between the treatment unit and patient, and radiation weighting factor. We used the adjusted model to estimate H per prescribed proton absorbed dose, DRx, for the passive-scattering proton therapy beams of two children, a 9-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, who each received intracranial boost fields as part of their treatment. In organs and tissues at risk for radiation-induced subsequent malignant neoplasms, T, we calculated the mass-averaged H, HT, per DRx. Finally, we compared HT/DRx values to those of previously-published Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of these patients’ fields. HT/DRx values of the adjusted model deviated from the MC result for each organ on average by 20.8 ± 10.0% and 44.2 ± 17.6% for the girl and boy, respectively. The adjusted model underestimated the MC result in all T of each patient, with the exception of the girl’s bladder, for which the adjusted model overestimated HT/DRx by 3.1%. The adjusted model provided a better estimate of HT/DRx than the unadjusted model. That is, between the two models, the adjusted model reduced the deviation from the MC result by approximately 37.0% and 46.7% for the girl and boy, respectively. We found that the previously-published analytical model, combined with adjustment factors to enhance its clinical applicability, predicted HT/DRx in out-of-field organs and tissues at risk for subsequent malignant neoplasms with acceptable accuracy. This independent application demonstrated that the analytical model may be useful broadly for clinicians and researchers to calculate equivalent dose from neutrons produced externally to the patient in passive-scattering proton therapy.