Treatment Planning For Boron Neutron Capture Therapy For Cancer

The book focuses on two concurrent experimental therapies in cancer treatment known as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and gadolinium neutron capture therapy (GdNCT) using a variety of boron- and gadolinium-based compounds. Some of the gadolinium compounds serve the dual purpose as being MRI contrast agents and GdNCT agents. The book describes why BNCT & GdNCT were not at the forefront of the clinical trials during the past seven to eight decades since the discovery of neutrons by John Chadwick in 1932 and how the latest development in the synthesis of target boron- and gadolinium-based drugs have turned the area to be the hottest one and worthy of further investigation with the new clinical trials in the USA and elsewhere.

Frontiers in Neutron Capture Therapy contains current research results originally presented at the Eighth International Symposium on Neutron Capture Therapy for Cancer in La Jolla, CA. This comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed manuscripts is showcased in two volumes covering all aspects of the development of this multidisciplinary approach to cancer therapy. Volume I of this work includes clinical results and current progress in treatment planning, neutron sources and dosimetry, while Volume II presents the synthesis, pharmacology and tissue-targeting design of boron compounds, including work on preclinical dosimetry and radiobiology. Intended for researchers and clinicians involved with or interested in new modes of cancer therapy, this volume will also serve as a useful guideline for scientists, students, and practitioners in the field.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a neutron-based technique that allows selective cancer treatment at the tumour cellular level. BNCT is especially suitable for the treatment of brain, head, neck and skin cancers. Using the reaction between a neutron and boron to selectively destroy cancer cells, BNCT is a treatment that differs radically from conventional radiotherapy and promises to become a more widely adopted option for cancer treatment. BNCT is undergoing a major resurgence of interest around the world as some recent progress in accelerator technology allows the procedure to be undertake in clinics. In addition, the approval of BNCT in Japan as a routine clinical treatment for certain tumour types offers valuable insights for other states considering a similar approach. This publication comprehensively reports on the current state of the science as well as the supporting technology. It covers accelerator-based neutron sources, beam design, physical dosimetry, facility design and operation, pharmaceuticals, radiobiology, dose calculation, treatment planning and clinical trials. It has been written to assist in decision making at the national level as well as offering practical guidance for all those involved in implementation and ongoing management of BNCT programmes.

The European Collaboration on Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), conceived in 1987 and successful in 1989 in gaining financial support as a Concerted Action through the Medical and Health Research Programme of the Commission ofthe European Communities (CEC) in Brussels, considered it an opportune moment to hold its annual Plenary Meeting on 18-20 Septem ber 1991 as an International Workshop entitled "Towards Clinical Trials of Glioma with BNCT". The background to this consideration was influenced by the world-wide resurgence ofinterest in NCT over the last 2 decades and by the exemplifica tions at the Fourth International Symposium on Neutron Capture Therapy for Cancer held in Sydney in December 1990, where it was strongly indicated that within the next 2 years clinical trials would be started both in Europe and the United States. In particular at the High Flux Reactor of the Joint Research Centre of the CEC at Petten in The Netherlands, an epithermal neutron beam designed and installed in the summer of 1990 recently became operable at full reactor power. An extensive series ofexperiments, including the nuclear and radiobiological characterisation of the beam and a healthy tissue tolerance study on canines has started and has the aim to define the preconditions for clinical trials onpatients with Grade III/IV glioma. However, as with any other new therapy modality, it must be demon strated that BNCT is safe for the patient and has a reasonable chance of being an effective therapy.

For physicians, particularly oncologists, and for specialists involved with the equipment or procedures of nuclear medicine, describes the use of large nuclear installations to treat cancer. Reviews the results obtained with neutrons produced by accelerators of different energies; details the use of nuclear reactors for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, emphasizing the collaboration between disciplines; surveys the experience of medium- and high- energy accelerators in various laboratories; and the assesses the advantages of Synchrotron light emitted from large electron storage rings in both diagnosis and therapy. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Neutron capture therapy (NCT) is based on the ability of the non-radioactive isotope boron-10 to capture thermal neutrons with very high probability and immediately to release heavy particles with a path length of one cell diameter, which in principle allows for tumor cell-selective high-LET particle radiotherapy. This book provides a comprehensive summary of the progress made in NCT in recent years. Individual sections cover all important aspects, including neutron sources, boron chemistry, drugs for NCT, dosimetry, and radiation biology. The use of NCT in a variety of malignancies and also some non-malignant diseases is extensively discussed. NCT is clearly shown to be a promising modality at the threshold of wider clinical application. All of the chapters are written by experienced specialists in language that will be readily understood by all participating disciplines.

Since the first clinical trials on Boron Neutron Capture Therapy in the 1950s, BNCT research has been mainly focussed on the treatment of (deep-seated) brain tumours, in particular, glioblastoma multiforme. Promising work to treat other cancers at other locations and even other diseases are in progress. Therefore, the chemists, medical doctors, physicists and biologists involved in BNCT are not only continuing to investigate and improve the (brain) clinical results, but are also investigating the new applications in BNCT. The work presented in this thesis is in the field of physics and deals, from three different viewpoints, with obtaining the optimal source neutron energy to optimise BNCT. The optimal source neutron energy is defined such as to obtain as many as possible (n, a)-absorptions due to 10B in the tumours and as low as possible total neutron dose in the healthy tissues and organs at risk