Optimum radiation source for radiation therapy of skin cancer

Several different applicators have been designed for treatment of skin cancers, such as scalp, hand, and legs using Ir-192 HDR brachytherapy sources (IR-HDRS), miniature electronic brachytherapy sources (eBT), and external electron beam radiation therapy (EEBRT). Although, all of these methodologies may deliver the desired radiation dose to the skin, but the dose to the underlying bone may become the limiting factor for selection of the optimum treatment technique. In this project, dose to the underlying bone has been evaluated as a function of the radiation type, thickness of the bone, and thickness of the soft tissue on top of bone, assuming the same radiation dose delivery to the skin. These evaluations are performed using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation technique with MCNP5 code. The results of these investigations indicate that, for delivery of the same skin dose with a 50keV eBT, 4 MeV or 6 MeV EEBRT techniques, the average doses received by the underlying bones are 5.31, 2, or 1.75 times the dose received from IR-HDRS technique, respectively. These investigations indicate that, for the treatment of skin cancer condition with bone immediately beneath skin, the eBT technique may not be the most suitable technique, as it may lead to excessive bone dose relative to IR-HDRS and 6 MeV or 4 MeV electron beams.