Comparison of high-dose rate prostate brachytherapy dose distributions with iridium-192, ytterbium-169, and thulium-170 sources

Purpose

Recent studies have identified that among different available radionuclides, the dose characteristics and shielding properties of ytterbium-169 (¹⁶⁹Yb) and thulium-170 (¹⁷⁰Tm) may suit high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy needs. The purpose of this work was to compare clinically optimized dose distributions using proposed ¹⁶⁹Yb and ¹⁷⁰Tm HDR sources with the clinical dose distribution from a standard microSelectron V2 HDR iridium-192 (¹⁹²Ir) brachytherapy source (Nucletron B.V., Veenendaal, The Netherlands).

Methods and materials

CT-based treatment plans of 10 patients having prostate volumes ranging from 17 to 92 cm³ were studied retrospectively. Clinical treatment of these patients involved 16 catheters and a microSelectron V2 HDR ¹⁹²Ir source. All dose plans were generated with inverse planning simulated annealing optimization algorithm. Dose objectives used for the ¹⁹²Ir radionuclide source were used for the other two radionuclides. The dose objective parameters were adjusted to obtain the same clinical target (prostate) volume coverage as the original ¹⁹²Ir radionuclide plan. A complete set of dosimetric indices was used to compare the plans from different radionuclides. A pairwise statistical analysis was also performed.

Results and conclusions

All the dose distributions optimized with specific ¹⁹²Ir, ¹⁶⁹Yb, and ¹⁷⁰Tm sources satisfied the standard clinical criteria for HDR prostate implants, such as those for the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group clinical trial 0321, for combined HDR and external beam treatment for prostate adenocarcinoma. For equivalent clinical target volume dose coverage, the specific ¹⁶⁹Yb and ¹⁷⁰Tm sources resulted in a statistically significant dose reduction to organs at risk compared with microSelectron V2 HDR ¹⁹²Ir source. This study indicates that a ¹⁷⁰Tm or ¹⁶⁹Yb radionuclide source may be an alternative to the ¹⁹²Ir radionuclide sources in HDR brachytherapy.