Investigation of the clinical potential of scattering foil free electron beams

Electron beam therapy has been an important radiation therapy modality for many decades. Studies have been conducted recently for more efficient and advanced delivery of electron beam radiation therapy. X-ray contamination is a common problem that exists with all of the advanced electron beam therapy techniques such as Bolus Electron conformal therapy, segmented electron conformal therapy, and modulated electron arc therapy. X-ray contamination could add some limitations to the advancement and clinical utility of those electron modalities. It was previously shown in the literature that the scattering foil is one of the major accelerator parts contributing to the generation of bremsstrahlung photons. Thus, in this work we investigate the dosimetric characteristics of scattering foil free (SFF) electron beams and the feasibility of using those beams for breast cancer boosts. The SFF electron beams were modeled and simulated using the Monte Carlo method. CT scans of six previously treated breast patients were used for the treatment plan generation utilizing our in-house Monte Carlo-based treatment planning system. Electron boost plans with conventional beams and the SFF beams were generated, respectively, for all patients. A significant reduction of the photon component was observed with the removal of the primary scattering foil for beam energies higher than 12 MeV. Flatness was greatly affected but the difference in flatness between conventional and SFF beams was much reduced for small cone sizes, which were often used clinically for breast boosts. It was found that the SFF electron beams could deliver high-quality dose distributions as conventional electron beams for boost treatments of the breast with an added advantage of a further reduced dose to the lung and the heart. (paper)