Normal Tissue Dose for External Radiation Therapy Patients
The National Cancer Institute dosimetry system for Radiation Treatment (NCIRT) can estimate normal tissue doses for patients receiving proton therapy.
Therapeutic Radiation Dosimetry
DCEG investigators in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch are developing a novel method to estimate normal tissue doses from external radiotherapy for epidemiologic studies based on multiple dose calculation tools. These tools range from a commercial treatment planning system (TPS) to Monte Carlo calculation codes. The system, called the National Cancer Institute dosimetry system for Radiation Treatment (NCIRT), includes two independent modules for photon and proton treatments. Both photon and proton modules are validated by dosimetry measurements in collaboration with clinical institutions. NCIRT is designed for different scenarios of dose reconstruction in which radiological images are available or not available for an epidemiological cohort.
Examples to Date
The system has been used to estimate doses to patients’ stomachs of variable shapes and locations within the study of second primary gastrointestinal cancers among survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers. NCIRT also is being used to estimate normal tissue doses for the study of contralateral breast cancer in collaboration with the Kaiser health maintenance organization. In addition, the system is being used for external collaborations, including the National Wilms Tumor Study and the clinical trial of Proton vs. Photon Therapy for Breast Cancer patients.
Related Links
Read Applying 3-Dimensional Printing for Radiation Exposure Assessment for more information on computational and physical phantoms.
For more information, contact Choonsik Lee, Ph.D.