Quantification of fat fraction in lumbar vertebrae: correlation with age and implications for bone marrow dosimetry in molecular radiotherapy

Absorbed dose to active bone marrow is a predictor of hematological toxicity in molecular radiotherapy. Due to the complex composition of bone marrow tissue, the necessity to improve the personalized dosimetry has led to the application of non-conventional imaging methods in nuclear medicine. The aim of this study is to apply magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for quantification of the fat fraction in lumbar vertebrae and to analyze its implications for bone marrow dosimetry.