Assessment of leakage dose in vivo in patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer

Abstract

Background and purpose: Accurate quantification of the relatively small radiation doses delivered to untargeted regions during breast irradiation in patients with breast cancer is of increasing clinical interest for the purpose of estimating long-term radiation-related risks. Out-of-field dose calculations from commercial planning systems however may be inaccurate which can impact estimates for long-term risks associated with treatment. This work compares calculated and measured dose out-of-field and explores the application of a correction for leakage radiation. Materials and methods: Dose calculations of a Boltzmann transport equation solver, pencil beam-type, and superposition-type algori..