Dosimetry of radiation scattered to thyroid gland from prophylactic cranial irradiation for childhood leukemia.

Dosimetry of radiation scattered to the thyroid gland was performed in 17 children (9 boys, 8 girls) who were treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and received cranial irradiation for prophylaxis against central nervous system leukemia at a median age of 4 years and 2 months (range, 1 year and 1 month to 14 years). The absorbed dose to the thyroid gland in these children ranged from 0.7% to 7.3% of the dose delivered to the cranium. Thus the total dose to the thyroid gland ranged from 0.13 to 1.32 Gy by the end of the entire course of cranial irradiation. Doses tended to be larger in younger children, but the radiation source also had a large influence on the dose to the thyroid gland; that is, the absorbed dose to the thyroid gland with delivery by linear accelerator was smaller than that by cobalt irradiation. Long-term survivors treated with cranial irradiation for acute leukemia during childhood should be followed for the possible development of thyroid diseases, including malignant tumors, for a long period.