Monte Carlo simulation of the absorbed dose distribution in a pre-clinical radiotherapy research model of skeletal late complications
Abstract
Background The bones of pediatric oncology patients can be exposed to ionizing radiation during radiotherapy treatments. Such radiation can harm cartilage organs within the bone, called growth plates, responsible for bone elongation. Damage to growth plates induced by radiation can result in long-term side effects ranging from a loss of final height to severe skeletal malformations, such as scoliosis/kyphosis, which cause painful, debilitating consequences that span throughout the lives of affected cancer survivors. Randomized clinical trials are the standard method for proving the highest possible evidence of the success of interventions, but pre-clinical studies in small animals can be a significant synergistic tool to devise the interventions that may be eventually tested in these trials. The implementation of detailed Monte Carlo (MC) simulations into pre-clinical studies can provide accurate information on the interaction of radiation with tissues, thus increasing the accuracy of the experiment’s dosimetry, which can subsequently enhance the reliability of the research. Aim To implement strategies for improving the computational efficiency of a previously developed Monte Carlo (MC) model of a small animal radiotherapy system used at Karolinska Institute (KI), with the subsequent aim of computing the absorbed dose distribution within the bone tissue of an irradiated mouse. The outcomes of this project will contribute to pre-clinical research aimed at better understanding…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
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