Monte Carlo simulation of the effect of magnetic fields on brachytherapy dose distributions in lung tissue material

PONE-D-20-21759

Dear Dr. Moreno Barbosa,

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Additional Editor Comments (optional):

I agree with both reviewers that the paper is well-written on an interesting topic.

Reviewers' comments:

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Excellently written paper about a well-done study. Although the findings are negative (magnetic field does not impact the dose distribution significantly for Ir-192 brachytherapy sources) it's an important finding to establish as MRI becomes more prevalent in the clinic. I might have selected a nasopharynx cancer rather than a lung tumor treatment for the clinical example as more clinically relevant. Is the lung treatment approach shown in Figure 1B actually clinical? It appears the catheter would have to go through the sternum. Overall I found the study to be complete; the authors address the one big limitation in the discussion, that there are no physical measurements to compare against.

Reviewer #2: This is a thorough and well written paper that carefully considers the effects of magnetic field on the dose deposition of the Ir-192 source in lung tissue. The text and figures provided are clear, with appropriate detail. Appropriate background information, references, description and validation of methods, results, and conclusions are provided. No necessary revisions are identified.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No