title: Dose reconstruction for therapeutic and diagnostic radiation exposures: use in epidemiological studies.
abstract: This paper describes methods developed specifically for reconstructing individual organ- and tissue-absorbed dose of radiation from past exposures from medical treatments and procedures for use in epidemiological studies. These methods have evolved over the past three decades and have been applied to a variety of medical exposures including external-beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy for malignant and benign diseases as well as diagnostic examinations. The methods used for estimating absorbed dose to organs in and outside the defined treatment volume generally require archival data collection, abstraction and review, and phantom measurements to simulate past exposure conditions. Three techniques are used to estimate doses from radiation therapy: (1) calculation in three-dimensional mathematical computer models using an extensive database of out-of-beam doses measured in tissue-equivalent materials, (2) measurement in anthropomorphic phantoms constructed of tissue-equivalent material, and (3) calculation using a three-dimensional treatment-planning computer. For diagnostic exposures, doses are estimated from published data and software based on Monte Carlo techniques. We describe and compare these methods of dose estimation and discuss uncertainties in estimated organ doses and potential for future improvement. Seven epidemiological studies are discussed to illustrate the methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA. mstovall@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stovall
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weathers
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Lois
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Travis
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ron
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kleinerman
mesh_terms: D001822:Body Burden; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes