The study of dose gamma rays of Ir-192 source on DNA single strand break (SSB) and DNA double strand break (DSB) damages

Ionizing radiation modifies the molecular structure of the cell and ultimately disrupts its function. Brachytherapy by the Gamma Iridium-192 source is one of the most widely used radiotherapy methods in cervical and prostate cancer. For this reason, in the research, we investigated the damage to the DNA molecule by photons and secondary electrons of the source at different distances, and then we obtained the dose rates in the defined dimensions of DNA. In this work, using the MCNPX code, we calculated the flux and photon dose and secondary electrons from iradium-192 Brachytherapy, in approximate dimensions of DNA in a water phantom. Then, using the electron flux obtained, through the MCDS code, we investigated the efficiency of DNA breaks at different distances from the source. The simulations indicated that DNA damage is different at various distances from the source and it depends on the number of secondary electrons reaching that region as well as its energy. With increasing the distance from the source, the values of the probability distribution function of DNA single-strand and two-strand breaks diminish. It was also observed that these values had peaks at distances of 0.04 and 2.5 cm from the source, where the maximum probability of single-strand break at those distances was 8.06% and 3.9%, respectively, and the maximum probability of the two-strand break at those distances was 0.54% and 0.11%, respectively. It is notable that the dose reaching the DNA at these distances was 27.202 and 0.005 mGy/h, respectively.