A Review of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: Its History and Current Challenges

Abstract

Mechanism of Action External beam, whether with photons or particles, remains as the most common type of radiation therapy. The main drawback is that radiation deposits dose in healthy tissue before reaching its target. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the nuclear capture and fission reactions that occur when 10B is irradiated with low-energy (0.0025 eV) thermal neutrons. The resulting 10B(n,α)7Li capture reaction produces high linear energy transfer (LET) α particles, helium nuclei (4He), and recoiling lithium-7 (7Li) atoms. The short range (5-9 μm) of the α particles limits the destructive effects within the boron-containing cells. In theory, BNCT can selectively destroy malignant cells while sparing adjacent normal tissue at the cellular levels by delivering a single fraction of radiation with high LET particles. History BNCT has been around for many decades. Early studies were promising for patients with malignant brain tumors, recurrent tumors of the head and neck, and cutaneous melanomas; however, there were certain limitations to its widespread adoption and use. Current Limitations and Prospects Recently, BNCT re-emerged owing to several developments: (1) small footprint accelerator-based neutron sources; (2) high specificity third-generation boron carriers based on monoclonal antibodies, nanoparticles, among others; and (3) treatment planning software and patient positioning devices that optimize treatment delivery and consistency.

Modeling of the beam core in phase space using kernel density estimation

“…The shape and size of the phase space distribution can provide important information about the quality of the particle beam, such as its emittance (a measure of the spread of particle trajectories) and its energy spread. This is a mathematical concept that is widely used to analyze and model the behavior of charged particle beams, such as those used in accelerators [2], colliders [3], and other particle-based technologies [4].…”

Lithium salts cytotoxicity and accumulation in melanoma cells in vitro

“…BNCT is a selective method for the destruction of cancer cells, since 10 B atoms, after absorbing thermal neutrons, decay into an alpha particle and a lithium nucleus and release most of the nuclear reaction energy within one cell (about 10 μm) (Matsumoto et al, 2021; Suzuki, 2020). Locher (1936) proposed the concept of neutron capture therapy in the mid‐1930s, but only after the end of the Second World War, the development of nuclear reactors for medicine allowed to start clinical trials of BNCT (Jin et al, 2022). Although the clinical trials showed the promising results, there is a number of limitations to the widespread use of BNCT technology (Cheng et al, 2022; Jin et al, 2022).…”

Organotrifluoroborate Sugar Conjugates for a Guided Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: From Synthesis to Positron Emission Tomography

“…The capture of a neutron by [ 10 B] atoms triggers a fission reaction that destroys the malignant cells. To ensure the best therapeutic results, cancer irradiation should be performed when the concentration of the BNCT agent within the tumor is the highest possible, above 2 mM. , To date, three boron-containing molecules have been approved for clinical trials and one for clinical use in Japan (boronophenylalanine BPA–Steboronine, Stella Pharma Corporation, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan), but all of them are far from ideal, especially because they cannot be traced in vivo . As targeted therapy represents a major focus of biomedical research today, to guarantee further development for the BNCT approach, new boron-containing compounds should act as theranostic agents, both delivering the boron atom needed for the therapy and tracking the biodistribution of the molecule in real time. , …”