No Arabic abstract
A Geant4-based Monte Carlo model for Heavy-Ion Therapy (MCHIT) is used to study radiation fields of H-1, He-4, Li-7 and C-12 beams with similar ranges (~160-180 mm) in water. Microdosimetry spectra are simulated for wall-less and walled Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counters (TEPCs) placed outside or inside a phantom, as in experiments performed, respectively, at NIRS, Japan and GSI, Germany. The impact of fragmentation reactions on microdosimetry spectra is investigated for He-4, Li-7 and C-12, and contributions from nuclear fragments of different charge are evaluated for various TEPC positions in the phantom. The microdosimetry spectra measured on the beam axis are well described by MCHIT, in particular, in the vicinity of the Bragg peak. However, the simulated spectra for the walled TEPC far from the beam axis are underestimated. Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of the considered beams is estimated using a modified microdosimetric-kinetic model. Calculations show a similar rise of the RBE up to 2.2-2.9 close to the Bragg peak for helium, lithium and carbon beams compared to the modest values of 1-1.2 at the plateau region. Our results suggest that helium and lithium beams are also promising options for cancer therapy.
Beams of $^{4}$He and $^{16}$O nuclei are considered for ion-beam cancer therapy as alternative options to protons and $^{12}$C nuclei. Spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) distributions of physical dose and relative biological effectiveness for 10% survival are calculated by means of our Geant4-based Monte Carlo model for Heavy Ion Therapy (MCHIT) and the modified microdosimetric kinetic model. The depth distributions of cell survival fractions are calculated for $^{1}$H, $^{4}$He, $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O for tissues with normal (HSG cells), low and high radiosensitivity. In each case the cell survival fractions were compared separately for the target volume, behind and in front of it. In the case of normal radiosensitivity $^{4}$He and $^{12}$C better spare tissues in the entrance channel compared to protons and $^{16}$O. The cell survival fractions calculated, respectively, for the entrance channel and target volume are similar for $^{4}$He and $^{12}$C. When it is important to spare healthy tissues located after the distal edge of the SOBP plateau, $^{4}$He can be recommended due to reduced nuclear fragmentation of these projectiles. No definite advantages of $^{16}$O with respect to $^{12}$C were found, with the except of an enhanced impact of these heavier projectiles on radioresistant tumors.
We model the responses of Tissue-Equivalent Proportional Counters (TEPC) to radiation fields of therapeutic C-12 beams in a water phantom and to quasi-monoenergetic neutrons in a PMMA phantom. Simulations are performed with the Monte Carlo model for Heavy Ion Therapy (MCHIT) based on the Geant4 toolkit. The shapes of the calculated lineal energy spectra agree well with measurements in both cases. The influence of fragmentation reactions on the TEPC response to a narrow pencil-like beam with its width smaller than the TEPC diameter is investigated by Monte Carlo modeling. It is found that total lineal energy spectra are not very sensitive to the choice of the nuclear fragmentation model used. The calculated frequency-mean lineal energy y_f differs from the data on the axis of a therapeutic beam by less than 10% and by 10-20% at other TEPC positions. The validation of MCHIT with neutron beams gives us confidence in estimating the contributions to lineal energy spectra due to secondary neutrons produced in water by C-12 nuclei. As found, the neutron contribution at 10 cm distance from the beam axis amounts to ~ 50% close the entrance to the phantom and decreases to ~ 25% at the depth of the Bragg peak and beyond it. The presented results can help in evaluating biological out-of-field doses in carbon-ion therapy.
We study the spatial distributions of $beta^+$-activity produced by therapeutic beams of $^3$He and $^{12}$C ions in various tissue-like materials. The calculations were performed within a Monte Carlo model for Heavy-Ion Therapy (MCHIT) based on the GEANT4 toolkit. The contributions from $^{10,11}$C, $^{13}$N, $^{14,15}$O, $^{17,18}$F and $^{30}$P positron-emitting nuclei were calculated and compared with experimental data obtained during and after irradiation. Positron emitting nuclei are created by $^{12}$C beam in fragmentation reactions of projectile and target nuclei. This leads to a $beta^+$-activity profile characterised by a noticeable peak located close to the Bragg peak in the corresponding depth-dose distribution. On the contrary, as the most of positron-emitting nuclei are produced by $^3$He beam in target fragmentation reactions, the calculated total $beta^+$-activity during or soon after the irradiation period is evenly distributed within the projectile range. However, we predict also the presence of $^{13}$N, $^{14}$O, $^{17,18}$F created in charge-transfer reactions by low-energy $^3$He ions close to the end of their range in several tissue-like media. The time evolution of $beta^+$-activity profiles was investigated for both kinds of beams. Due to the production of $^{18}$F nuclide the $beta^+$-activity profile measured 2 or 3 hours after irradiation with $^{3}$He ions will have a distinct peak correlated with the maximum of depth-dose distribution. We found certain advantages of low-energy $^{3}$He beams over low-energy proton beams for reliable PET monitoring during particle therapy of shallow located tumours. In this case the distal edge of $beta^+$-activity distribution from $^{17}$F nuclei clearly marks the range of $^{3}$He in tissues.
Depth distributions of positron-emitting nuclei in PMMA phantoms are calculated within a Monte Carlo model for Heavy-Ion Therapy (MCHIT) based on the GEANT4 toolkit (version 8.0). The calculated total production rates of $^{11}$C, $^{10}$C and $^{15}$O nuclei are compared with experimental data and with corresponding results of the FLUKA and POSGEN codes. The distributions of e$^+$ annihilation points are obtained by simulating radioactive decay of unstable nuclei and transporting positrons in surrounding medium. A finite spatial resolution of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is taken into account in a simplified way. Depth distributions of $beta^+$-activity as seen by a PET scanner are calculated and compared to available data for PMMA phantoms. The calculated $beta^+$-activity profiles are in good agreement with PET data for proton and $^{12}$C beams at energies suitable for particle therapy. The MCHIT capability to predict the $beta^+$-activity and dose distributions in tissue-like materials of different chemical composition is demonstrated.
Four light-mass nuclei are considered by an effective two-body clusterisation method; $^6$Li as $^2$H$+^4$He, $^7$Li as $^3$H$+^4$He, $^7$Be as $^3$He$+^4$He, and $^8$Be as $^4$He$+^4$He. The low-energy spectrum of each is determined from single-channel Lippmann-Schwinger equations, as are low-energy elastic scattering cross sections for the $^2$H$+^4$He system. These are presented at many angles and energies for which there are data. While some of these systems may be more fully described by many-body theories, this work establishes that a large amount of data may be explained by these two-body clusterisations.