Physical, dosimetric and clinical aspects and delivery systems in neutron capture therapy

Abstract

Neutron capture therapy (NCT) is a targeted radiotherapy for cancer treatment. In this method, neutrons with a spectra/specific energy (depending on the type of agent used for NCT) are captured with an agent that has a high cross-section with these neutrons. There are some agents that have been proposed in NCT including B,Gd and S. Among these agents, onlyB is used in clinical trials. Application of Gd is limited to in-vivo and in-vitro research. In addition,S has been applied in the field of Monte Carlo simulation. In BNCT, the only two delivery agents which are presently applied in clinical trials are BPA and BSH, but other delivery systems are being developed for more effective treatment in NCT. Neutron sources used in NCT are fission reactors, accelerators, and Cf. Among these, fission reactors have the most application in NCT. So far, BNCT has been applied to treat various cancers including glioblastoma multiforme, malignant glioma, malignant meningioma, liver, head and neck, lung, colon, melanoma, thyroid, hepatic, gastrointestinal cancer, and extra-mammary Paget's disease. This paper aims to review physical, dosimetric and clinical aspects as well as delivery systems in NCT for various agents.

Boron and Gadolinium Loaded Fe3O4 Nanocarriers for Potential Application in Neutron Capture Therapy

“…Passive targeting is based on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect (ability of nanoparticles to penetrate through vascular architecture). Active targeting is based on the attaching to the molecule or nanocarrier special antibody or ligand in order to point them to tumor cells [15]. Nanostructures used for the delivery of NCT agent include boron nitride nanotubes, liposomes, dendrimers, polymeric nanoparticles, and others [16][17][18][19].…”

Boron neutron capture therapy: Current status and future perspectives

“…BSH contains 12 boron atoms and is an anionic polyhedral borane icosahedron. It is considered that BSH uses passive diffusion through the plasma membrane to enter tumor cells [24]. BSH has a high T/N ratio with weak accumulation in tumor cells, while BPA accumulates well in tumor cells but has a low T/N ratio [25,26].…”

Synthesis and Characterisation of a Boron-Rich Symmetric Triazine Bearing a Hypoxia-Targeting Nitroimidazole Moiety

“…Neutron capture yields excited 11 B which gives nuclear fission generating high-energy alpha particles ( 4 He nuclei) and lithium-7 ( 7 Li) nuclei causing damage to the cell. Due to their high linear-energy transfer (LET), α ( 4 He) and lithium particles deposit their energy within a range of 5-9 µm (approximately the diameter of a cell), limiting their effects mainly to the boron-containing cells [1,2].…”