Program Information
Investigation of PRESAGE Formulation On Signal Quenching in a Proton Beam
M Carroll*, M Alqathami , G Ibbott , UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Presentations
SU-F-T-164 (Sunday, July 31, 2016) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose:
The radiochromic polyurethane PRESAGE by Heuris Pharma has had limited applications with protons because of a dose response dependence on LET resulting in signal quenching in the Bragg peak. This is due to the radical initiator, a halocarbon, radically recombining in high-LET irradiations. This study investigated the use of alternative halocarbons at various chemical concentrations to determine their significance in signal quenching.
Methods:
PRESAGE was manufactured in-house and cast in small volume cuvettes (1x1x4cm^3). Several compositions were evaluated to determine the influence of the radical initiator component. Mixtures contained one of two halocarbons, chloroform or bromoform, at concentrations of 5%/10%/15%(w/w). A large volume, cylindrical PRESAGE dosimeter made following the mixture described by Heuris Pharma, 4cm(D)x8.5cm(H), was irradiated with 200-MeV protons to study regions of low- and high-LET along a 10cm spread out Bragg peak isodose profile. Depths corresponding to regions of low quenching (<3%) and high quenching (>20%) were determined. These depths were used for cuvette placement in a solid water phantom. Samples of each formulation were placed at each depth and irradiated to doses between 0 and 10Gy.
Results:
The cuvettes indicated different levels of quenching for different radical initiator types, concentrations, and total doses. Chloroform formulations showed reduced quenching from 29%(5%-w/w) to 21%(15%-w/w) while bromoform reduced quenching from 27%(5%-w/w) to 17%(15%-w/w). The reduction in quenching was found to be non-linear with concentration of radical initiator. A quenching dose-dependency was also found that changed with formulation. In all cases, quenching was relatively consistent from 0-5Gy but increased at 10Gy. The quenching decreased as concentrations of radical initiator increased.
Conclusion:
The radical initiator component in PRESAGE is correlated with the signal quenching observed in proton irradiations and formulation adjustments show promise as a method of reducing this quenching. Future work will further investigate concentration limits and optimize the formulation.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Grant number 5RO1CA100835
Contact Email: