Monte Carlo single-cell dosimetry of Auger-electron emitting radionuclides

A hybrid Monte Carlo transport scheme combining event-by-event and condensed-history simulation with a full account of energy-loss straggling was used to study the dosimetric characteristics of the Auger-emitting radionuclides 67Ga, 99mTc, 111In, 123I, 125I and 201Tl at the single-cell level. The influence of the intracellular localization of the Auger radionuclide upon cellular S-values, radial dose rate profiles and dose-volume-histograms (DVHs) was investigated. For the case where the radiopharmaceutical was either internalized into the cytoplasm or remained bound onto the cell surface (non-internalized), the dose to the cell nucleus was found to differ significantly from the MIRD values and other published data. In this case, the assumption of a homogeneous distribution throughout the cell is shown to significantly overestimate the nuclear dose. A dosimetric case study relevant to the radioimmunotherapy of single lymphoma B-cells with 125I and 123I is presented.