Specific energy from Auger and conversion electrons of 131I, 188Re-anti-CD20 to a lymphocyte's nucleus

Abstract

The typical radionuclides used to label anti-CD20 in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are 90Y, 131I, and 188Re, with the emission of beta particles, Auger electrons, and conversion electrons for the latter two. The aim of the present work was to calculate the contribution of high linear energy transfer radiation as Auger electrons (AE) and conversion electrons (CE) of 131I and 188Re-anti-CD20 to mean specific energy into the cell nucleus by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), so as to infer therapeutic effectiveness on a dosimetric basis. MCS was used to quantify the frequency–mean specific energy into the cell nucleus, where the cell was modeled by two concentric spheres, considering two cell models. The results showed that 10% and 33% of the mean-specific energies (z¯) per disintegration imparted to the cell nucleus for both geometries are due to AE and CE; on the other hand, if the hit of AE and CE occurs, the contribution to (z¯) is about 64% and 86% for 131I and 188Re, respectively. According to the amount of specific energy from AE and CE into the cell nucleus by positive event, they can cause catastrophic effects in the nuclear DNA in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with 131I, 188Re-anti-CD20.