Laser Interstitial Thermo Therapy (LITT) for Prostate Cancer Animal Model: Numerical Simulation of Temperature and Damage Distribution

Laser interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) is a cancer treatment technique in which laser fibers are introduced inside the tumor. While it destroys deep tumors, the LITT procedure allows minimizing the impact on adjacent healthy structures. Image guided focal photothermal ablation of low risk and low volume prostate cancer is feasible. However, dosimetry planning and conformation of the treated area within the tumor remain major issues, especially when, for large-sized targets, it is necessary to use several fibers. One of the effective methods to perform treatment planning for LITT is the simulation. We used COMSOL Multiphysics to simulate the heat distribution and thermal damage resulting from laser interstitial of a cylindrical diffusing fiber (CDF) in a biological medium. Simulation provided good estimation of the results of the in-vivo experiments.