Systematic microdosimetric data for protons of therapeutic energies calculated with Geant4-DNA

摘要

The purpose of this study was to generate physical data needed for microdosimetry-based models of proton RBE. Our focus was on the frequency and dose average lineal energies, y(F) and y(D). We report data for proton energies from 0.1 to 100 MeV, for spherical volumes 2-103 nm in diameter. These data were calculated using Geant4-DNA Monte Carlo software. The physics implemented in Geant4-DNA has been extensively tested for this type of calculations but data on y(F) and y(D) for protons generated with this code have been very limited. An innovative aspect of our study is that we introduced a straightforward procedure for calculation of y(F) and y(D) for polyenergetic beams and presented the data in a format that simplifies these calculations. We compared our data with previous studies that used different Monte Carlo codes and with experimental data.