Improvement of dose distribution in ocular brachytherapy with I seeds 20-mm COMS plaque followed to loading of choroidal tumor by gold nanoparticles.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Brachytherapy using removable ophthalmic plaques loaded with suitable small sealed radioactive seeds adjacent to the ocular's tumor has been widely used as an effective treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the dose distribution in a modeled eyeball followed to loading of an ocular melanoma tumor with different concentrations of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as dose enhancement agent by Monte Carlo (MC) calculations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The MC code of MCNPX 2.6.0 was used to modeling of COMS standard eye plaque loaded with 24 I sources (6711 model) located on the sclera of modeled eyeball with detailed structures and materials. A choroidal melanoma tumor was simulated and loaded with different concentrations of spherical gold GNPs (50 nm in diameter). Dose enhancement factors (DEFs) of ocular components were calculated.

RESULTS

The dosimetric properties of I source (6711 model) and dose distribution of COMS standard eye plaque were calculated successfully as recommended by TG-43U1; AAPM. Loading of tumor with GNPs increased dose to the tumor and decreased dose to the normal tissues; the DEF was increased up to 2.280 and 2.030 for tumor apex, while it was decreased to 0.760 and 0.892 for macula and for gold-tumor mixture and nanolattice distributions, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Loading the choroidal tumor volume with GNPs improves the dose distribution by increasing dose to the tumor and decreasing dose to the health components in ocular brachytherapy with I seeds 20-mm COMS plaque.