Dragana Krstic

Title : Monte carlo MCNP simulation of cervical cancer in brachytherapy

Abstract:

Brachytherapy plays a significant role in gynecology by delivering high doses of radiation directly to cancerous tumors within the body, while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissues. This approach often results in improved outcomes and reduced side effects compared to other forms of radiation therapy. Brachytherapy can be used alone or in combination with other treatments, such as surgery or chemotherapy, to effectively manage gynecological cancers. The use of brachytherapy in gynecology has expanded over the years to include treatment for various types of cancer, such as cervical, endometrial, vaginal, and vulvar cancer.

In this paper Monte Carlo MCNP6 software was applied for simulation brachytherapy of cervical cancer. For this purpose, a voxel phantom was applied, as a presentation of a female patient. The device  MicroSelectron afterloading is often used in the HDR regime for intracavitary brachytherapy with small radioactive source of ¹⁹²Ir.  Doses in relevant points of uterus were obtained by MCNP and  compare them  with planning system for patient.

In addition,  doses in urinary bladder and colon, as organs at risk (OAR), were calculated and compared them with maximal doses in these organs obtained from planning. There is a good agreement between results obtained with MCNP software and the planning system for brachytherapy.

Audience Take Away:

• Brachytherapy as a kind of radiotherapy.
• Monte Carlo simulations.
• Calculation of doses and comparison with planning system for brachytherapy.
• The comfort of therapy in order to improve the health of women.

Biography:

Prof. Krstic studied Physics at the University of Kragujevac, Serbia. She received her PhD degree in 2007 at the same institution. Main subject of research was radiation and medical physics. For dose determining particle by particle transport codes were involved, such as MCNP; owner of the license for the latest  MCNP6.2 software. It is also an ongoing research in the field of nuclear medicine; recently there was emphasis to proton boron fusion therapy (PBFT) investigations; Participation in the Voxel Phantom Intercomparison, organized by Eurados 2017. Dragana Krstic  has published about 90 papers in journals and  the  most of them were related to the calculation with MCNP. She and D. Nikezic developed input files for MCNP with ORNL and voxel model of standard man in standing position. ОRNL phantoms are in MCNP Medical Physics Geometry Database (D. Krstic and D. Nikezic, U. of Kragujevac, Serbia). Hirsch index is 11 (according to Scopus) and she obtained about 300 citations (excluding self-citations).