Antiprotons for radiotherapy?

Comparison of 126 MeV antiproton and proton—a FLUKA-based microdosimetric approach

Objective. This study aims at comparing dosimetric parameters of 126 MeV antiprotons and protons using microdosimetric approach. Approach. Microdosimetric distributions of 126 MeV proton and antiproton beams at 1 μm site size are calculated using the Monte Carlo-based FLUKA code. The distributions are calculated at various depths along the central axis in water phantom as well as at different off-axis locations. The study also includes calculations of secondary radiations produced by antiprotons and protons. Mean quality factor, Q ¯ is calculated using the ICRP 60 and ICRU 40 recommendations. The Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of HSG tumour cell at 10% survival level is calculated based on Microdosimetric Kinetic Model. Main results. Q ¯ I C R P , Q ¯ ICRU and RBE for antiprotons are higher by a factor of about 3.60, 3.41 and 1.24, respectively, at Bragg-peak and higher by a factor of about 1.41, 1.76 and 1.05, respectively, at plateau region of depth-dose profile when compared to protons. At 15 cm depth along the central axis, Q ¯ ICRP , Q ¯ ICRU and RBE for protons are higher by a factor of about 1.42, 1.66 and 1.26, respectively, when compared to antiprotons. At the off-axis distance (Ld ) of 6 cm (at 11.5 cm depth in water), Q ¯ ICRP and Q ¯ ICRU of protons are higher than that of antiproton whereas the trend is opposite at off-axis distance of 4 cm. At Ld = 4 cm (at 11.5 cm depth in water), RBE of antiprotons is higher by about 4% than protons whereas at Ld = 6 cm, RBE of protons is higher by about 13% than antiprotons. Significance. The study shows that antiproton radiotherapy is advantageous as compared to protons considering enhancements in the absorbed dose and RBE-weighed dose values at the Bragg-peak.