Title: Comment on Monte Carlo calculation of the dose distributions of two 106Ru eye applicators [Radiother Oncol 49 (1998) 191–196]
Abstract: It is certainly infrequent to comment on an article published 13 years ago, particularly when the commented article has accumulated only eleven citations in such a long time. There are, however, important reasons for writing this letter. Although uveal melanomas are routinely treated with 106Ru plaques, there is still today controversy on critical aspects of the treatment, in particular the maximum treatable tumour size, the allowable eccentricity of the plaque, and the tumoricidal dose [ 1 Nag S. Quivey J.M. Earle J.D. Followill D. Fontanesi J. Finger P.T. The american brachytherapy society recommendations for brachytherapy of uveal melanomas. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2003; 56: 544-555 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (196) Google Scholar , 2 Bergman L. Nilsson B. Lundell M. Seregard S. Ruthenium brachytherapy for uveal melanoma, 1979–2003: survival and functional outcomes in the Swedish population. Ophthalmology. 2005; 112: 834-840 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (123) Google Scholar ]. Ophthalmologists have published a vast number of articles in which they try to shed light on these aspects by means of statistical analysis on patient recovery rates. However a consensus has not been reached. Answers to these controversial issues require an accurate knowledge of the dose distribution produced by the eye plaque in the patient's anatomy. Monte Carlo simulations seem the most adequate method for obtaining this quantitative information. However, not all general-purpose Monte Carlo codes are prepared for the simulation of the beta-decay spectrum necessary for modelling 106Ru plaques and, therefore, a programming effort is required. This difficulty is one of the reasons explaining why only four articles on Monte Carlo simulation of 106Ru plaques have been published [ 3 Sánchez-Reyes A. Tello J. Guix B. Salvat F. Monte Carlo calculation of the dose distributions of two 106Ru eye applicators. Radiother Oncol. 1998; 49: 191-196 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (27) Google Scholar , 4 Cross W. Hokkanen J. Järvinen H. Mourtada F. Calculation of beta-ray dose distributions from ophthalmic applicators and comparison with measurements in a model eye. Med Phys. 2001; 28: 1385-1396 Crossref PubMed Scopus (40) Google Scholar , 5 Mourtada F. Koch N. Newhauser W. 106Ru/106Rh Plaque and proton radiotherapy for ocular melanoma: a comparative dosimetric study. Radiat Prot Dosim. 2005; 116: 454-460 Crossref PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar , 6 Fuss M.C. Muñoz A. Oller J.C. Blanco F. Williart A. Limão-Vieira P. et al. Energy deposition by a 106Ru/106Rh eye applicator simulated using LEPTS, a low-energy particle track simulation. Appl Radiat Isotopes. 2011; 69: 1198-1204 Crossref PubMed Scopus (14) Google Scholar ] and the low activity in this field leading to a small number of citations. The work of Sánchez-Reyes and collaborators was the pioneering paper in this field and hence its importance.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-08-01
Language: en
Type: letter
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 15
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