Radiation absorbed dose distribution in a patient treated with yttrium-90 microspheres for hepatocellular carcinoma

We have implemented a three-dimensional dose calculation technique accounting for dose inhomogeneity within the liver and tumor of a patient treated with 90Y microspheres. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images were used to derive the activity distribution within liver. A Monte Carlo calculation was performed to create a voxel dose kernel for the 90Y source. The activity distribution was convolved with the voxel dose kernel to obtain the three-dimensional (3D) radiation absorbed dose distribution. An automated technique was developed to accurately register the computed tomography (CT) and SPECT scans in order to display the 3D dose distribution on the CT scans. In addition, dose-volume histograms were generated to fully analyze the tumor and liver doses. The calculated dose-volume histogram indicated that although the patient was treated to the nominal whole liver dose of 110 Gy, only 16% of the liver and 83% of the tumor received a dose higher than 110 Gy. The mean tumor and liver doses were 163 and 58 Gy, respectively.