The Effects of Tissue Heterogeneitieson Dose Distribution of Iridium-192 Source in Brachytherapy Treatments

Mansour Zabihzadeh^1,2*, Ali Yadollahpour¹ and Leila Kargar¹

¹Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. ²Department of Radiation Oncology, Golestan Hospital, Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract: The present study examines the effects of dose variation on brachytherapy treatment with Ir-192 source in the presence and absence of tissue heterogeneities.The effect of source location and distance between the heterogeneity and the source on dose distribution were evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation (MCNP4C code). Soft tissue heterogeneity showed no significant effect on dose distribution. Increasing the distance between the source and the phantom center, decreases dose delivery because of reduced scattering. Despite the surrounding heterogeneities, Ir-192 source can alter dose distribution in comparison with the homogeneous water phantom.

Keywords: Dose distribution; High-dose rate (HDR)brachytherapy Iridium-192 source; Tissue heterogeneities; Monte Carlo simulation

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