RBE-based dose planning, and calculation of TCP and NTCP with gold nanoparticles for intermediate photon energy in pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Objective: This study simulated the potential of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) to improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy in pancreatic cancer cases. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of GNPs on tumor control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) in pancreatic cancer cases undergoing radiation therapy. The work aimed to compare treatment plans generated with a novel 2.5 MV beam using GNPs to conventional 6 MV plans and evaluate the dose-volume histogram (DVH), TCP, and NTCP.
Approach: Treatment planning for five pancreatic computed tomography (CT) images was performed using the open-source MATLAB-based treatment planning program matRad. MATLAB codes were developed to calculate the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of GNPs and apply the corresponding dose and RBE values to each voxel. TCP and NTCP were calculated based on the applied RBE values.
Main results: Adding GNPs to the 2.5 MV treatment plan resulted in a significant increase in TCP, from around 59% to 93.5%, indicating that the inclusion of GNPs improved the effectiveness of the radiation treatment. The range in NTCP without GNPs is relatively larger compared to that with GNPs.
Significance: The results indicated that the addition of GNPs to a 2.5 MV plan can increase TCP while maintaining a relatively low NTCP value (< 1%). The use of GNPs may also reduce NTCP values by decreasing the dose to normal tissues while maintaining the same prescribed dose to the tumor. Hence, the addition of GNPs can improve the balance between TCP and NTCP.