Radiobiological evaluation of the impact of the treatment with the gamma knife radiosurgery technique on the body parts of patients with different brain lesions: Does the radiation exposure affect also the Patient's blood components?

The research aimed to study the safety of the dose-staged Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) on the patients' organs, by evaluating the equivalent and effective doses delivered to various body parts and examining the impacts on the blood parameters. The case study consisted of 30 patients with different brain lesions undergone to GKRS. To assess the radiation exposure on the different body parts, gamma dose rates were measured using a survey radiation dosimeter. The results demonstrated that the GKRS beam effectively backscatters on the patient's body, considering the irradiation doses and the exposure time. Body parts in closer proximity to the target (radiation beam) received higher gamma doses compared to other areas. High and low values of gamma dose rate were measured in the two configurations: high irradiation dose (80 Gy for 46.47 min) and low irradiation dose (10 Gy per 15.7 min) for the brain lesions of Trigeminal Neuralgia and Meningioma, respectively. Radiobiological effects were estimated following the international guidelines revealing significant radiation impacts on some organs. Hematological effects were also evaluated with variations depending on the radiation exposure dose and the exposure time. Some blood cells showed radiation-related impacts. Notably, the high dose of 80 Gy administered over 46.47 min of exposure for trigeminal brain lesions had a greater influence on the blood parameters compared to the low dose of 10 Gy over 15.7 min of exposure for acoustic neuroma brain lesions. Consequently, it turned out that increases in gamma-ray doses resulted in significant impacts on specific blood parameters. • Gamma knife surgery influences the hematological parameters of the patient. • The radiobiological effects depend on the type of brain lesion. • Effects of backscattered γ-radiation impact more on abdomen, chest and gonads. • Hematological impacts vary according to the exposure time and radiation dose.