Simulation-based correction of dose enhancement factor values in photon brachytherapy with metal nanoparticle targeting

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate and quantify the influence of nanoparticle composition, size, and concentration on the difference between dose enhancement values derived from Monte Carlo simulations with homogeneous and structured geometrical representations of the target region in metal nanoparticle-enhanced photon brachytherapy. Values of the dose enhancement factor (DEF) were calculated for Pd-103, I-125, and Cs-131 brachytherapy sources with gold, silver, or platinum nanoparticles acting as targeting agents. Simulations were performed using the Geant4 toolkit with condensed history models of electron transport. Stringent limits were imposed on adjustable parameters that define secondary electron histories, so that simulations came closest to true event-by-event electron tracking, thereby allowing part of the nanoparticle-laden volume used for calculating the dose to be represented as a structured region with uniformly distributed discrete nanoparticles. Fine-tuned physical models of secondary radiation emission and propagation, along with the discrete geometrical representation of nanoparticles, result in a more realistic assessment of dose enhancement. The DEF correction coefficient is introduced as a metric that quantifies the absorption of secondary radiation inside the nanoparticles themselves, a phenomenon disregarded when the target region is treated as a homogeneous metal–tissue mixture, but accounted for by discrete nanoparticle representation. The approach applied to correcting DEF values both draws from and expands upon several related investigations published previously. Comparison of the obtained results to those found in relevant references shows both agreement and deviation, depending on nanoparticle properties and photon energy.