The dosimetric feasibility of gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy (GNRT) via brachytherapy using low-energy gamma-/x-ray sources

The preferential accumulation of gold nanoparticles within tumors and the increased photoelectric absorption due to the high atomic number of gold cooperatively account for the possibility of significant tumor dose enhancement during gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy (GNRT). Among the many conceivable ways to implement GNRT clinically, a brachytherapy approach using low-energy gamma-/x-ray sources (i.e. Eavg < 100 keV) appears to be highly feasible and promising, because it may easily fulfill some of the technical and clinical requirements for GNRT. Therefore, the current study investigated the dosimetric feasibility of implementing GNRT using the following sources: 125I, 50 kVp and 169Yb. Specifically, Monte Carlo (MC) calculations were performed to determine the macroscopic dose enhancement factors (MDEF), defined as the ratio of the average dose in the tumor region with and without the presence of gold nanoparticles during the irradiation of the tumor, and the photo/Auger electron spectra within a tumor loaded with gold nanoparticles. The current study suggests that a significant tumor dose enhancement (e.g. >40%) could be achievable using 125I, 50 kVp and 169Yb sources and gold nanoparticles. When calculated at 1.0 cm from the center of the source within a tumor loaded with 18 mg Au g−1, macroscopic dose enhancement was 116, 92 and 108% for 125I, 50 kVp and 169Yb, respectively. For a tumor loaded with 7 mg Au g−1, it was 68, 57 and 44% at 1 cm from the center of the source for 125I, 50 kVp and 169Yb, respectively. The estimated MDEF values for 169Yb were remarkably larger than those for 192Ir, on average by up to about 70 and 30%, for 18 mg Au and 7 mg Au cases, respectively. The current MC study also shows a remarkable change in the photoelectron fluence and spectrum (e.g. more than two orders of magnitude) and a significant production (e.g. comparable to the number of photoelectrons) of the Auger electrons within the tumor region due to the presence of gold nanoparticles during low-energy gamma-/x-ray irradiation. The radiation sources considered in this study are currently available and tumor gold concentration levels considered in this investigation are deemed achievable. Therefore, the current results strongly suggest that GNRT can be successfully implemented via brachytherapy with low energy gamma-/x-ray sources, especially with a high dose rate 169Yb source.