Estimation of organs doses and radiation-induced secondary cancer risk from scattered photons for conventional radiation therapy of nasopharynx. A Monte Carlo study

We used Monte Carlo modeling to calculate the organs doses due to out-of field photons during radiation therapy of the nasopharynx. A medical internal radiation dose (MIRD)-based mathematical phantom resembling an adult man was modeled by MCNP4C MC code. Three validated models of a cobalt-60 machine, a 6-MV photon beam of a Varian 2300 C/D linac, and a 9-MV photon beam of a Neptun linac were used to simulate the isocentric irradiation of a mathematical phantom with two lateral fields of the nasopharynx. The organspecific dose, effective dose, and cancer risk estimates were obtained. The effective doses for out-of-field radiation were 320, 295, and 248 mSv for the 60Co beam, 6-MV beam, and 9-MV beam devices, respectively, for a 70-Gy tumor dose. The fatal cancer risks of 1.6%, 1.5%, and 1.2% were estimated for a 70-Gy tumor dose of 60Co and the 6- and 9-MV photon beams, respectively. Our results regarding the effective dose and cancer risk are in agreement with previously published experimental results on conventional radiation therapy. Further investigation on patients' out-of-field dose to provide more knowledge on various radiotherapy techniques is suggested. (author)