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Monte carlo simulation study on the dose and dose-averaged linear energy transfer distributions in carbon ion radiotherapy

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Abstract

Dose-averaged linear energy transfer (LETd) is conventionally evaluated from the relative biological effectiveness (RBE)-LETd fitted function used in the treatment planning system. In this study, we calculated the physical doses and their linear energy transfer (LET) distributions for patterns of typical CIRT beams using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. The LETd was then deduced from the MC simulation and compared with that obtained from the conventional method. The two types of LETd agreed well with each other, except around the distal end of the spread-out Bragg peak. Furthermore, an MC simulation was conducted with the material composition of water and realistic materials. The profiles of physical dose and LETd were in good agreement for both techniques. These results indicate that the previous studies to analyze the minimum LETd in CIRT cases are valid for practical situations, and the material composition conversion to water little affects the dose distribution in the irradiation field.

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The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Science and Engineering Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki, 319-1195, Japan

    Akihisa Ishikawa, Takuya Furuta, Shintaro Hashimoto & Tatsuhiko Sato

  2. Quantum Life and Medical Science Directorate, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 4-9-1, Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan

    Akihisa Ishikawa, Yusuke Koba & Shunsuke Yonai

  3. Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8603, Japan

    Akihisa Ishikawa

  4. Department of Radiological Sciences, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10, Higashiogu, Arakawa-Ku, Tokyo, 116-8551, Japan

    Weishan Chang, Shinnosuke Matsumoto & Yuta Hirai

Authors
  1. Akihisa Ishikawa
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  2. Yusuke Koba
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  3. Takuya Furuta
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  4. Weishan Chang
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  5. Shunsuke Yonai
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  6. Shinnosuke Matsumoto
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  7. Shintaro Hashimoto
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  8. Yuta Hirai
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  9. Tatsuhiko Sato
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Correspondence to Akihisa Ishikawa.

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The authors declare they have no conflict of interest for this study.

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All procedures involving human participants were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethical approval was not required for this study.

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Ishikawa, A., Koba, Y., Furuta, T. et al. Monte carlo simulation study on the dose and dose-averaged linear energy transfer distributions in carbon ion radiotherapy. Radiol Phys Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-024-00798-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-024-00798-7

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