Development of Individual Dosimetry System for Targeted Alpha Therapy
—Aiming to Establish Safer, More Effective Therapy Through Personalized Treatment Planning—
Targeted radiation therapy using alpha particles, being capable of selectively attacking cancer cells, has been attracting attention as a new cancer treatment method that possesses both a high therapeutic effect and low incidence of side effects. However, to this point, patient characteristics (body type, drug accumulation, and so forth) have not been reflected in planning for this therapy.
On this occasion, the latest simulation technologies developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency such as "PHITS" (a radiation transport code) were used to develop a system which precisely calculates doses absorbed in the body from PET and CT images of individual patients to estimate the extent of the therapeutic effect and the side effects.
Using this system makes it possible to conduct personalized treatment planning that reflects patient characteristics in order to, e.g., determine the optimal dosage and number of administrations, thereby enabling the realization of safer, more effective targeted alpha therapy.
