Dosimetric comparison between four kinds of radioactive esophageal stents to be used in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancers using Monte Carlo simulation

Finding accurate methods to be employed for the treatment of esophageal cancers is of especial interest for researchers, due to the sensitivity of this tissue. Recently radioactive stents loaded with I-125 brachytherapy seeds have been widely investigated for the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer. It is necessary to investigate the dose distribution of any radioactive esophageal stents before the clinical use. This study performs a dosimetric comparison between four kinds of radioactive esophageal stents to be used in the treatment of advanced esophageal cancers by Monte Carlo simulation (MCNPX2.6 and Geant4), based on the arrangement of the seeds. According to results of this study, esophageal stents loaded with I-125 seeds seems to be better than iodine-eluting stents, with the distance of 20 mm or less between the centers of two adjacent seeds. This arrangement could be an appropriate candidate to be utilized for treatment of advanced esophageal cancer.