Neutron capture therapy of cancer

{{short description|Nonsurgical treatment for locally invasive malignant tumors}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox medical intervention | name = Neutron capture therapy of cancer | synonym = | image =BNCT Capture Reaction.jpg |caption='''a.''' BNCT is based on the neutron capture and decay reactions that occur when boron-10 is irradiated with low-energy (0.0025 eV) thermal neutrons. The resulting ¹⁰B(n,α)⁷Li capture reaction yields high linear energy transfer (LET) α particles (stripped down helium nuclei [⁴He]) and recoiling lithium-7 (⁷Li) atoms. '''b.''' The short range (5-9 μm) of the α particles limits the destructive effects to the boron-containing cells. In theory, BNCT can selectively destroy malignant cells while sparing adjacent normal tissue if the requisite amounts of ¹⁰B and neutrons are delivered to the tumor cells. Reprinted from Barth RF, Mi P, Yang W (June 2018). "Boron delivery agents for neutron capture therapy of cancer". ''Cancer Communications''. '''38''' (1): 35. {{doi|10.1186/s40880-018-0299-7|doi-access=free}} PMC 6006782. PMID 29914561). | alt = | pronounce = | specialty = oncology | synonyms = | ICD10 = | ICD9 = | ICD9unlinked = | CPT = | MeshID = | LOINC = | other_codes = | MedlinePlus = | eMedicine = }}

'''Neutron capture therapy''' ('''NCT''') is a type of radiotherapy for treating locally invasive malignant tumors such as primary brain tumors, recurrent cancers of the head and neck region, and cutaneous and extracutaneous melanomas. It is a two-step process: ''first'', the patient is injected with a tumor-localizing drug containing the stable isotope boron-10 ({{sup|10}}B), which has a high propensity to capture low-energy "thermal" neutrons. The neutron cross section of {{sup|10}}B (3,837 barns) is 1,000 times more than that of other elements, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, or oxygen, that occur in tissue. In the ''second'' step, the patient is radiated with epithermal neutrons, the sources of which in the past have been nuclear reactors and now are accelerators that produce higher-energy epithermal neutrons. After losing energy as they penetrate tissue, the resultant low-energy thermal neutrons are captured by the {{sup|10}}B atoms. The resulting decay reaction yields high-energy alpha particles that kill the cancer cells that have taken up enough {{sup|10}}B.

All clinical experience with NCT to date is with boron-10; hence, this method is known as '''boron neutron capture therapy''' ('''BNCT''').<ref name="Barth et al 2012">{{cite journal | vauthors = Barth RF, Vicente MG, Harling OK, Kiger WS, Riley KJ, Binns PJ, Wagner FM, Suzuki M, Aihara T, Kato I, Kawabata S | display-authors = 6 | title = Current status of boron neutron capture therapy of high grade gliomas and recurrent head and neck cancer | journal = Radiation Oncology | volume = 7 | article-number = 146 | date = August 2012 | pmid = 22929110 | pmc = 3583064 | doi = 10.1186/1748-717X-7-146 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Use of another non-radioactive isotope, such as gadolinium, has been limited to experimental animal studies and has not been done clinically. BNCT has been evaluated as an alternative to conventional radiation therapy for malignant brain tumors such as glioblastomas, which presently are incurable, and more recently, locally advanced recurrent cancers of the head and neck region and, much less often, superficial melanomas mainly involving the skin and genital region.<ref name="Barth et al 2012"/><ref name="Moss">{{cite journal | vauthors = Moss RL | title = Critical review, with an optimistic outlook, on Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 88 | pages = 2–11 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24355301 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2013.11.109 | bibcode = 2014AppRI..88....2M }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hiratsuka J, Kamitani N, Tanaka R, Yoden E, Tokiya R, Suzuki M, Barth RF, Ono K | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy for vulvar melanoma and genital extramammary Paget's disease with curative responses | journal = Cancer Communications | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | date = June 2018 | page = 38 | pmid = 29914570 | pmc = 6006671 | doi = 10.1186/s40880-018-0297-9 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

==Boron neutron capture therapy== {{Further|Boron neutron capture therapeutics}}

===History=== James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932. Shortly thereafter, H. J. Taylor reported that boron-10 nuclei had a high propensity to capture low-energy thermal neutrons. This reaction causes nuclear decay of the boron-10 nuclei into helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) and lithium-7 ions.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Taylor HJ, Goldhaber M |date=1935|title=Detection of Nuclear Disintegration in a Photographic Emulsion |journal=Nature |volume=135 |issue=3409 |page=341 |doi=10.1038/135341a0 |bibcode=1935Natur.135..341T |s2cid=4106732 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1936, G.L. Locher, a scientist at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recognized the therapeutic potential of this discovery and suggested that this specific type of neutron capture reaction could be used to treat cancer.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Locher GL |date=1936 |title=Biological effects and therapeutic possibilities of neutrons.|journal=American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy|volume=36|pages=1–13}}</ref><ref name="Barth et al 2012" /> William Sweet, a neurosurgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital, first suggested the possibility of using BNCT to treat malignant brain tumors to evaluate BNCT for treatment of the most malignant of all brain tumors, glioblastoma multiforme (GBMs), using borax as the boron-delivery agent in 1951.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sweet WH | title = The uses of nuclear disintegration in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumor | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 245 | issue = 23 | pages = 875–8 | date = December 1951 | pmid = 14882442 | doi = 10.1056/NEJM195112062452301 }}</ref> A clinical trial subsequently was initiated by Lee Farr using a specially constructed nuclear reactor at the Brookhaven National Laboratory<ref name="Farr"/> in Long Island, New York, USA. Another clinical trial was initiated in 1954 by Sweet at the Massachusetts General Hospital using the MIT Nuclear Research Reactor in Boston.<ref name=":0"/>

A number of research groups worldwide have continued the early ground-breaking clinical studies of Sweet and Farr, and subsequently the pioneering clinical studies of Hiroshi Hatanaka (畠中洋) in the 1960s, to treat patients with brain tumors.<ref name="Boron Neutron" /> Since then, clinical trials have been done in a number of countries including Japan, the United States, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Taiwan, and Argentina. After the nuclear accident at Fukushima in 2011, the clinical program there transitioned from a reactor neutron source to accelerators that would produce high-energy neutrons that become thermalized as they penetrate tissue.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

==Basic principles== Neutron capture therapy is a binary system that consists of two separate components to achieve its therapeutic effect. Each component in itself is non-tumoricidal, but when combined, they can be highly lethal to cancer cells. thumb|1) Boron compound (b) is selectively absorbed by cancer cell(s). 2) Neutron beam (n) is aimed at cancer site. 3) Boron absorbs neutron. 4) Boron disintegrates, emitting cancer-killing radiation. BNCT is based on the nuclear capture and decay reactions that occur when non-radioactive boron-10, which makes up approximately 20% of natural elemental boron, is irradiated with neutrons of the appropriate energy to yield excited boron-11 (¹¹B*). This undergoes radioactive decay to produce high-energy alpha particles (⁴He nuclei) and high-energy lithium-7 (⁷Li) nuclei. The nuclear reaction is:{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} :¹⁰B + n_th → [¹¹B] *→ α + ⁷Li + 2.31 MeV

Both the alpha particles and the lithium nuclei produce closely spaced ionizations in the immediate vicinity of the reaction, with a range of 5–9&nbsp;μm. This approximately is the diameter of the target cell, and thus the lethality of the capture reaction is limited to boron-containing cells. BNCT, therefore, can be regarded as both a biologically and a physically targeted type of radiation therapy. The success of BNCT is dependent upon the selective delivery of sufficient amounts of ¹⁰B to the tumor with only small amounts localized in the surrounding normal tissues.<ref name="Boron Neutron">{{cite journal | vauthors = Barth RF, Coderre JA, Vicente MG, Blue TE | title = Boron neutron capture therapy of cancer: current status and future prospects | journal = Clinical Cancer Research | volume = 11 | issue = 11 | pages = 3987–4002 | date = June 2005 | pmid = 15930333 | doi = 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-05-0035 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Thus, normal tissues, if they have not taken up sufficient amounts of boron-10, can be spared from the neutron capture and decay reactions. Normal tissue tolerance, however, is determined by the nuclear capture reactions that occur with normal tissue hydrogen and nitrogen.<ref name="Boron Neutron" />

A wide variety of boron delivery agents have been synthesized.<ref name="Vicente MGH">{{cite journal |doi=10.2174/187152006776119162 |title=Boron in medicinal chemistry |year=2006 | vauthors = Vicente MG |journal=Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=73}}</ref> The first, which has mainly been used in Japan, is a polyhedral borane anion, sodium borocaptate or BSH ({{chem2|Na2B12H11SH}}), and the second is a dihydroxyboryl derivative of phenylalanine, called boronophenylalanine or BPA. The latter has been used in many clinical trials. Following administration of either BPA or BSH by intravenous infusion, the tumor site is irradiated with neutrons, the source of which, until recently, has been specially designed nuclear reactors and now is neutron accelerators. Until 1994, low-energy (< 0.5&nbsp;eV) thermal neutron beams were used in Japan<ref name="Nakagawa et al 2003">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nakagawa Y, Pooh K, Kobayashi T, Kageji T, Uyama S, Matsumura A, Kumada H | title = Clinical review of the Japanese experience with boron neutron capture therapy and a proposed strategy using epithermal neutron beams | journal = Journal of Neuro-Oncology | volume = 62 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 87–99 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12749705 | doi = 10.1023/A:1023234902479 | s2cid = 41668511 }}</ref> and the United States,<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Farr"/> but since they have a limited depth of penetration in tissues, higher-energy (0.5–10,000&nbsp;eV) epithermal neutron beams, which have a greater depth of penetration, were used in clinical trials in the United States,<ref name="Diaz">{{cite journal | vauthors = Diaz AZ | title = Assessment of the results from the phase I/II boron neutron capture therapy trials at the Brookhaven National Laboratory from a clinician's point of view | journal = Journal of Neuro-Oncology | volume = 62 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 101–9 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12749706 | doi = 10.1023/A:1023245123455 | s2cid = 23659585 }}</ref><ref name="Busse">{{cite journal | vauthors = Busse PM, Harling OK, Palmer MR, Kiger WS, Kaplan J, Kaplan I, Chuang CF, Goorley JT, Riley KJ, Newton TH, Santa Cruz GA, Lu XQ, Zamenhof RG | display-authors = 6 | title = A critical examination of the results from the Harvard-MIT NCT program phase I clinical trial of neutron capture therapy for intracranial disease | journal = Journal of Neuro-Oncology | volume = 62 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 111–21 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12749707 | doi = 10.1007/BF02699938 | s2cid = 10633091 }}</ref> Europe,<ref name="Kankaanarant">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kankaanranta L, Seppälä T, Koivunoro H, Välimäki P, Beule A, Collan J, Kortesniemi M, Uusi-Simola J, Kotiluoto P, Auterinen I, Serèn T, Paetau A, Saarilahti K, Savolainen S, Joensuu H | display-authors = 6 | title = L-boronophenylalanine-mediated boron neutron capture therapy for malignant glioma progressing after external beam radiation therapy: a Phase I study | journal = International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics | volume = 80 | issue = 2 | pages = 369–76 | date = June 2011 | pmid = 21236605 | doi = 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.02.031 }}</ref><ref name="Kanakaanranta Boron Neutron">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kankaanranta L, Seppälä T, Koivunoro H, Saarilahti K, Atula T, Collan J, Salli E, Kortesniemi M, Uusi-Simola J, Välimäki P, Mäkitie A, Seppänen M, Minn H, Revitzer H, Kouri M, Kotiluoto P, Seren T, Auterinen I, Savolainen S, Joensuu H | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy in the treatment of locally recurred head-and-neck cancer: final analysis of a phase I/II trial | journal = International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics | volume = 82 | issue = 1 | pages = e67-75 | date = January 2012 | pmid = 21300462 | doi = 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.09.057 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Japan,<ref name="Kawabata">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kawabata S, Miyatake S, Kuroiwa T, Yokoyama K, Doi A, Iida K, Miyata S, Nonoguchi N, Michiue H, Takahashi M, Inomata T, Imahori Y, Kirihata M, Sakurai Y, Maruhashi A, Kumada H, Ono K | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma | journal = Journal of Radiation Research | volume = 50 | issue = 1 | pages = 51–60 | date = January 2009 | pmid = 18957828 | doi = 10.1269/jrr.08043 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2009JRadR..50...51K }}</ref><ref name="Miyatake">{{cite journal | vauthors = Miyatake S, Kawabata S, Yokoyama K, Kuroiwa T, Michiue H, Sakurai Y, Kumada H, Suzuki M, Maruhashi A, Kirihata M, Ono K | display-authors = 6 | title = Survival benefit of Boron neutron capture therapy for recurrent malignant gliomas | journal = Journal of Neuro-Oncology | volume = 91 | issue = 2 | pages = 199–206 | date = January 2009 | pmid = 18813875 | doi = 10.1007/s11060-008-9699-x | s2cid = 11523322 }}</ref> Argentina, Taiwan, and China until recently, when accelerators replaced the reactors. In theory BNCT is a highly selective type of radiation therapy that can target tumor cells without causing radiation damage to the adjacent normal cells and tissues. Doses up to 60–70&nbsp;grays (Gy) can be delivered to the tumor cells in one or two applications compared to 6–7 weeks for conventional fractionated external beam photon irradiation. However, the effectiveness of BNCT is dependent upon a relatively homogeneous cellular distribution of ¹⁰B within the tumor, and more specifically within the constituent tumor cells, and this is still one of the main unsolved problems that have limited its success.<ref name="Barth et al 2012"/>

==Radiobiological considerations== The radiation doses to tumor and normal tissues in BNCT are due to energy deposition from three types of directly ionizing radiation that differ in their linear energy transfer (LET), which is the rate of energy loss along the path of an ionizing particle:{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

# Low-LET gamma rays, resulting primarily from the capture of thermal neutrons by normal tissue hydrogen atoms [{{sup|1}}H(n,γ){{sup|2}}H]; # High-LET protons, produced by the scattering of fast neutrons and from the capture of thermal neutrons by nitrogen atoms [{{sup|14}}N(n,p){{sup|14}}C]; and # High-LET, heavier charged alpha particles (stripped-down helium [{{sup|4}}He] nuclei) and lithium-7 ions, released as products of the thermal neutron capture and decay reactions with {{sup|10}}B [{{sup|10}}B(n,α){{sup|7}}Li].

Since both the tumor and surrounding normal tissues are present in the radiation field, even with an ideal epithermal neutron beam, there will be an unavoidable, non-specific background dose, consisting of both high- and low-LET radiation. However, a higher concentration of {{sup|10}}B in the tumor will result in it getting a higher total dose than that of adjacent normal tissues, which is the basis for the therapeutic gain in BNCT.<ref name="Coderre">{{cite journal | vauthors = Coderre JA, Morris GM | title = The radiation biology of boron neutron capture therapy | journal = Radiation Research | volume = 151 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–18 | date = January 1999 | pmid = 9973079 | doi = 10.2307/3579742 | bibcode = 1999RadR..151....1C | jstor = 3579742 }}</ref> The total radiation dose in Gy delivered to any tissue can be expressed in photon-equivalent units as the sum of each of the high-LET dose components multiplied by weighting factors (Gy_w), which depend on the increased radiobiological effectiveness of each of these components.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

==Clinical dosimetry== Biological weighting factors have been used in all of the more recent clinical trials in patients with high-grade gliomas, using boronophenylalanine (BPA) in combination with an epithermal neutron beam. The {{sup|10}}B(n,α){{sup|7}}Li part of the radiation dose to the scalp has been based on the measured boron concentration in the blood at the time of BNCT, assuming a blood:scalp boron concentration ratio of 1.5:1 and a compound biological effectiveness (CBE) factor for BPA in skin of 2.5. A relative biological effectiveness (RBE) or CBE factor of 3.2 has been used in all tissues for the high-LET components of the beam, such as alpha particles. The RBE factor is used to compare the biologic effectiveness of different types of ionizing radiation. The high-LET components include protons resulting from the capture reaction with normal tissue nitrogen, and recoil protons resulting from the collision of fast neutrons with hydrogen.<ref name="Coderre"/> It must be emphasized that the tissue distribution of the boron delivery agent in humans should be similar to that in the experimental animal model in order to use the experimentally derived values for estimation of the radiation doses for clinical radiations.<ref name="Coderre"/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ono K | title = An analysis of the structure of the compound biological effectiveness factor | journal = Journal of Radiation Research | volume = 57 Suppl 1 | issue = S1 | pages = i83–i89 | date = August 2016 | pmid = 27021218 | pmc = 4990111 | doi = 10.1093/jrr/rrw022 | bibcode = 2016JRadR..57I..83O }}</ref> For more detailed information relating to computational dosimetry and treatment planning, interested readers are referred to a comprehensive review on this subject.<ref name="Nigg">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nigg DW | title = Computational dosimetry and treatment planning considerations for neutron capture therapy | journal = Journal of Neuro-Oncology | volume = 62 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 75–86 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12749704 | doi = 10.1023/A:1023241022546 | s2cid = 38816518 }}</ref>

==Boron delivery agents== {{Main|Boron neutron capture therapeutics}} The development of boron delivery agents for BNCT began in the early 1960s and is an ongoing and difficult task. A number of boron-10-containing delivery agents have been synthesized for potential use in BNCT.<ref name="Vicente MGH"/><ref>Soloway, A. H., Tjarks, W., Barnum, B. A., Rong, F-G., Barth, R. F., Codogni, I. M., and Wilson, J. G.: The chemistry of neutron capture therapy. Chemical Rev 98: 1515-1562, 1998.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Barth RF, Mi P, Yang W | title = Boron delivery agents for neutron capture therapy of cancer | journal = Cancer Communications | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | date = June 2018 | page = 35 | pmid = 29914561 | pmc = 6006782 | doi = 10.1186/s40880-018-0299-7 | doi-access = free }}</ref> The most important requirements for a successful boron delivery agent are: *low systemic toxicity and normal tissue uptake with high tumor uptake and concomitantly high tumor:brain (T:Br) and tumor:blood (T:Bl) concentration ratios (> 3–4:1); *tumor concentrations in the range of ~20–50&nbsp;μg {{sup|10}}B/g tumor; *rapid clearance from blood and normal tissues and persistence in tumor during BNCT.

However, as of 2021 no single boron delivery agent fulfills all of these criteria. With the development of new chemical synthetic techniques and increased knowledge of the biological and biochemical requirements needed for an effective agent and their modes of delivery, a wide variety of new boron agents has emerged (see examples in Table 1). However, only one of these compounds has ever been tested in large animals, and only boronophenylalanine (BPA) and sodium borocaptate (BSH) have been used clinically.<ref name="Barth et al 2012"/>

{| class="wikitable" 100% |- |+ Table 1. Examples of new low- and high-molecular-weight boron delivery agents^a,b |- | style="width:300pt;"|Boric acid|| style="width:300pt;" |Boronated unnatural amino acids |- | Boron nitride nanotubes|| style="width:300pt;" |Boronated VEGF |- | Boron-containing immunoliposomes and liposomes || Carboranyl nucleosides |- | Boron-containing lipiodol|| Carboranyl porphyrazines |- | Boron-containing nanoparticles || Carboranyl thymidine analogues |- | Boronated co-polymers || Decaborone (GB10) |- | Boronated cyclic peptides || Dodecaborate cluster lipids and cholesterol derivatives |- | Boronated DNA^c intercalators || Dodecahydro-closo-dodecaborate clusters |- | Boronated EGF and anti-EGFR MoAbs || Linear and cyclic peptides |- | Boronated polyamines|| Polyanionic polymers |- | Boronated porphyrins|| Transferrin-polyethylene glycol liposomes |- | Boronated sugars || |} <small>{{sup|a}}The delivery agents are not listed in any order that indicates their potential usefulness for BNCT. None of these agents have been evaluated in any animals larger than mice and rats, except for boronated porphyrin (BOPP) that also has been evaluated in dogs. However, due to the severe toxicity of BOPP in canines, no further studies were carried out.</small><br /> <small>{{sup|b}}See Barth, R.F., Mi, P., and Yang, W., Boron delivery agents for neutron capture therapy of cancer, Cancer Communications, 38:35 ({{doi|10.1186/s40880-018-0299-7|doi-access=free}} 2018 for an updated review.</small><br /> <small>{{sup|c}}The abbreviations used in this table are defined as follows: BNCT, boron neutron capture therapy; DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid; EGF, epidermal growth factor; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; MoAbs, monoclonal antibodies; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.</small>

The major challenge in the development of boron delivery agents has been the requirement for selective tumor targeting in order to achieve boron concentrations (20–50&nbsp;μg/g tumor) sufficient to produce therapeutic doses of radiation at the site of the tumor with minimal radiation delivered to normal tissues. The selective destruction of infliltrative tumor (glioma) cells in the presence of normal brain cells represents an even greater challenge compared to malignancies at other sites in the body. Malignant gliomas are highly infiltrative of normal brain, histologically diverse, and heterogeneous in their genomic profile, and therefore it is very difficult to kill all of them.<ref name=":0" />

==Gadolinium neutron capture therapy (Gd NCT)== There also has been some interest in the possible use of gadolinium-157 ({{sup|157}}Gd) as a capture agent for NCT for the following reasons:<ref name="Cerullo">{{cite journal | vauthors = Cerullo N, Bufalino D, Daquino G | title = Progress in the use of gadolinium for NCT | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 67 | issue = 7-8 Suppl | pages = S157-60 | date = July 2009 | pmid = 19410468 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.03.109 | bibcode = 2009AppRI..67.S157C }}</ref> ''First'', and foremost, has been its very high neutron-capture cross section of 254,000 barns. ''Second'', gadolinium compounds, such as Gd-DTPA (gadopentetate dimeglumine Magnevist), have been used routinely as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain tumors and have shown high uptake by brain-tumor cells in tissue culture (''in vitro'').<ref name="Yasui">{{cite journal | vauthors = Yasui LS, Andorf C, Schneider L, Kroc T, Lennox A, Saroja KR | title = Gadolinium neutron capture in glioblastoma multiforme cells | journal = International Journal of Radiation Biology | volume = 84 | issue = 12 | pages = 1130–9 | date = December 2008 | pmid = 19061138 | doi = 10.1080/09553000802538092 | s2cid = 205647370 }}</ref> ''Third'', gamma rays and internal conversion and Auger electrons are products of the {{sup|157}}Gd(n,γ){{sup|158}}Gd capture reaction ({{sup|157}}Gd + n{{sub|th}} (0.025eV) → [{{sup|158}}Gd] → {{sup|158}}Gd + γ + 7.94 MeV). Though the gamma rays have longer pathlengths, orders of magnitude greater depths of penetration compared with alpha particles, the other radiation products (internal conversion and Auger electrons) have pathlengths of about one cell diameter and can directly damage DNA. Therefore, it would be highly advantageous for the production of DNA damage if the {{sup|157}}Gd were localized within the cell nucleus. However, the possibility of incorporating gadolinium into biologically active molecules is very limited, and only a small number of potential delivery agents for Gd NCT have been evaluated.<ref name="Nemoto">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0022-328X(99)00049-2 |title=The synthesis of a carborane gadolinium–DTPA complex for boron neutron capture therapy |year=1999 | vauthors = Nemoto H, Cai J, Nakamura H, Fujiwara M, Yamamoto Y |journal=Journal of Organometallic Chemistry |volume=581 |issue=1–2 |pages=170–5}}</ref><ref name="Tokumitsu">{{cite journal | vauthors = Tokumitsu H, Hiratsuka J, Sakurai Y, Kobayashi T, Ichikawa H, Fukumori Y | title = Gadolinium neutron-capture therapy using novel gadopentetic acid-chitosan complex nanoparticles: in vivo growth suppression of experimental melanoma solid tumor | journal = Cancer Letters | volume = 150 | issue = 2 | pages = 177–82 | date = March 2000 | pmid = 10704740 | doi = 10.1016/S0304-3835(99)00388-2 }}</ref> Relatively few studies with Gd have been carried out in experimental animals compared to the large number with boron-containing compounds (Table 1) which have been synthesized and evaluated in experimental animals (''in vivo''). Although ''in vitro'' activity has been demonstrated using the Gd-containing MRI contrast agent Magnevist as the Gd delivery agent,<ref name="De Stasio">{{cite journal | vauthors = De Stasio G, Rajesh D, Ford JM, Daniels MJ, Erhardt RJ, Frazer BH, Tyliszczak T, Gilles MK, Conhaim RL, Howard SP, Fowler JF, Estève F, Mehta MP | display-authors = 6 | title = Motexafin-gadolinium taken up in vitro by at least 90% of glioblastoma cell nuclei | journal = Clinical Cancer Research | volume = 12 | issue = 1 | pages = 206–13 | date = January 2006 | pmid = 16397044 | doi = 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-05-0743 | doi-access = free }}</ref> there are very few studies demonstrating the efficacy of Gd NCT in experimental animal tumor models,<ref name="Tokumitsu"/><ref name="Geninatti">{{cite journal | vauthors = Geninatti-Crich S, Alberti D, Szabo I, Deagostino A, Toppino A, Barge A, Ballarini F, Bortolussi S, Bruschi P, Protti N, Stella S, Altieri S, Venturello P, Aime S | display-authors = 6 | title = MRI-guided neutron capture therapy by use of a dual gadolinium/boron agent targeted at tumour cells through upregulated low-density lipoprotein transporters | journal = Chemistry: A European Journal | volume = 17 | issue = 30 | pages = 8479–86 | date = July 2011 | pmid = 21671294 | doi = 10.1002/chem.201003741 | hdl-access = free | hdl = 2318/130944 }}</ref> and, as evidenced by a lack of citations in the literature, Gd NCT has not, as of 2019, been used clinically in humans.{{Update inline|date=August 2025}}

==Neutron sources== ===Clinical studies using nuclear reactors as neutron sources=== Until 2014, neutron sources for NCT were limited to nuclear reactors.<ref name="Harling">{{cite journal | vauthors = Harling OK | title = Fission reactor based epithermal neutron irradiation facilities for routine clinical application in BNCT--Hatanaka memorial lecture | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 67 | issue = 7-8 Suppl | pages = S7-11 | date = July 2009 | pmid = 19428265 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.03.095 | bibcode = 2009AppRI..67...S7H }}</ref> Reactor-derived neutrons are classified according to their energies as thermal (E{{sub|n}} < 0.5&nbsp;eV), epithermal (0.5–10,000&nbsp;eV), or fast (E{{sub|n}} >10&nbsp;keV). Thermal neutrons are the most important for BNCT, since they usually initiate the {{sup|10}}B(n,α){{sup|7}}Li capture reaction. However, because they have a limited depth of penetration, epithermal neutrons, which lose energy and fall into the thermal range as they penetrate tissues, are now preferred for clinical therapy, other than for skin tumors such as melanoma.<ref name=IAEA2001>{{cite report |title=Current Status of Neutron Capture Therapy |url=https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/te_1223_prn.pdf#page=17 |date=May 2001 |publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency |location=Vienna |id=IAEA-TECDOC-1223 |page=7}}</ref>

A number of nuclear reactors with very good neutron-beam qualities have been developed and used clinically. These include:{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} #Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI) in Kumatori, Japan; #the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor (MITR); #the FiR1 (Triga Mk II) research reactor at VTT Technical Research Centre, Espoo, Finland; #the RA-6 CNEA reactor in Bariloche, Argentina; #the High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten in the Netherlands; #Tsing Hua Open-pool Reactor (THOR) at the National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan;<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tartaglione A, Blostein JJ, Mayer RE | title = Prompt gamma emissions in the reaction 115In(n,gamma)116In for neutrons around the 1.45 eV absorption resonance | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 67 | issue = 9 | pages = 1711–5 | date = September 2009 | pmid = 19394840 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.03.078 }}</ref> #JRR-4 at Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Japan; #A compact In-Hospital Neutron Irradiator (IHNI) in a free-standing facility in Beijing, China.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Zhang Z, Chong Y, Chen X, Jin C, Yang L, Liu T | title = PGNAA system preliminary design and measurement of In-Hospital Neutron Irradiator for boron concentration measurement | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 106 | pages = 161–5 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 26242556 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.07.049 | bibcode = 2015AppRI.106..161Z }}</ref>

As of May 2021, only the reactors in Argentina, China, and Taiwan are still being used clinically. It is anticipated that, beginning some time in 2022, clinical studies in Finland will utilize an accelerator neutron source designed and fabricated in the United States by Neutron Therapeutics, Danvers, Massachusetts.{{Update inline|date=August 2025}}

==Clinical studies of BNCT for brain tumors== ===Early studies in the US and Japan=== It was not until the 1950s that the first clinical trials were initiated by Farr at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York<ref name="Farr">{{cite journal | vauthors = Farr LE, Sweet WH, Robertson JS, Foster CG, Locksley HB, Sutherland DL, Mendelsohn ML, Stickley EE | display-authors = 6 | title = Neutron capture therapy with boron in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme | journal = The American Journal of Roentgenology, Radium Therapy, and Nuclear Medicine | volume = 71 | issue = 2 | pages = 279–93 | date = February 1954 | pmid = 13124616 }}</ref> and by Sweet and Brownell at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) nuclear reactor (MITR)<ref name="Sweet">{{cite conference | vauthors = Sweet WH |title=Practical problems in the past in the use of boron-slow neutron capture therapy in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme |conference=Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Neutron Capture Therapy |year=1983 |pages=376–8}}</ref> and several different low-molecular-weight boron compounds as the boron delivery agent.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Soloway AH, Hatanaka H, Davis MA | title = Penetration of brain and brain tumor. VII. Tumor-binding sulfhydryl boron compounds | journal = Journal of Medicinal Chemistry | volume = 10 | issue = 4 | pages = 714–7 | date = July 1967 | pmid = 6037065 | doi = 10.1021/jm00316a042 }}</ref> However, the results of these studies were disappointing, and no further clinical trials were carried out in the United States until the 1990s.

Following a two-year Fulbright fellowship in Sweet's laboratory at the MGH, clinical studies were initiated by Hiroshi Hatanaka in Japan in 1967. He used a low-energy thermal neutron beam, which had low tissue-penetrating properties, and sodium borocaptate (BSH) as the boron delivery agent, which had been evaluated as a boron delivery agent by Albert Soloway at the MGH.<ref name="Barth 2015">{{cite journal | vauthors = Barth RF | title = From the laboratory to the clinic: How translational studies in animals have {{as written|le|ad [sic]|expected=led}} to clinical advances in boron neutron capture therapy | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 106 | pages = 22–8 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 26149807 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.06.016 | doi-access = free }}</ref> In Hatanaka's procedure,<ref name="Hatanaka">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hatanaka H, Nakagawa Y | title = Clinical results of long-surviving brain tumor patients who underwent boron neutron capture therapy | journal = International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics | volume = 28 | issue = 5 | pages = 1061–6 | date = March 1994 | pmid = 8175390 | doi = 10.1016/0360-3016(94)90479-0 }}</ref> as much as possible of the tumor was surgically resected ("debulking"), and at some time thereafter, BSH was administered by a slow infusion, usually intra-arterially, but later intravenously. Twelve to 14 hours later, BNCT was carried out at one or another of several different nuclear reactors using low-energy thermal neutron beams. The poor tissue-penetrating properties of the thermal neutron beams necessitated reflecting the skin and raising a bone flap in order to directly irradiate the exposed brain, a procedure first used by Sweet and his collaborators.

Approximately 200+ patients were treated by Hatanaka, and subsequently by his associate, Nakagawa.<ref name="Nakagawa et al 2003"/> Due to the heterogeneity of the patient population, in terms of the microscopic diagnosis of the tumor and its grade, size, and the ability of the patients to carry out normal daily activities (Karnofsky performance status), it was not possible to come up with definitive conclusions about therapeutic efficacy. However, the survival data were no worse than those obtained by standard therapy at the time, and there were several patients who were long-term survivors, and most probably they were cured of their brain tumors.<ref name="Nakagawa et al 2003"/>

===Further clinical studies in the United States and Japan=== ====US (2003)==== BNCT of patients with brain tumors was resumed in the United States in the mid-1990s by Chanana, Diaz, and Coderre<ref name="Diaz"/> and their co-workers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory using the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor (BMRR) and at Harvard/Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) using the MIT Research Reactor (MITR).<ref name="Busse"/>

For the first time, BPA was used as the boron delivery agent, and patients were irradiated with a collimated beam of higher-energy epithermal neutrons, which had greater tissue-penetrating properties than thermal neutrons. A research group headed up by Zamenhof at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and MIT was the first to use an epithermal neutron beam for clinical trials.

Initially patients with cutaneous melanomas were treated, and this was expanded to include patients with brain tumors, specifically melanoma metastatic to the brain and primary glioblastomas (GBMs). Included in the research team were Otto Harling at MIT and the Radiation Oncologist Paul Busse at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. A total of 22 patients were treated by the Harvard-MIT research group. Five patients with cutaneous melanomas were also treated using an epithermal neutron beam at the MIT research reactor (MITR-II), and subsequently patients with brain tumors were treated using a redesigned beam at the MIT reactor that possessed far superior characteristics to the original MITR-II beam and BPA as the capture agent.

The clinical outcome of the cases treated at Harvard-MIT has been summarized by Busse.<ref name="Busse"/> Although the treatment was well-tolerated, there were no significant differences in the mean survival times (MSTs) of patients that had received BNCT compared to those who received conventional external beam X-irradiation.<ref name="Busse"/>

====Japan (2009) - glioblastomas==== Shin-ichi Miyatake and Shinji Kawabata at Osaka Medical College in Japan<ref name="Kawabata"/><ref name="Miyatake"/> have carried out extensive clinical studies employing BPA (500&nbsp;mg/kg) either alone or in combination with BSH (100&nbsp;mg/kg), infused intravenously (i.v.) over 2&nbsp;h, followed by neutron irradiation at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI) on patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastomas.

The mean survival time (MST) of 10 patients with recurrent high-grade gliomas in the first of their trials was 15.6&nbsp;months, with one long-term survivor (>5&nbsp;years).<ref name="Miyatake"/>

Based on experimental animal data,<ref name="Barth">{{cite journal | vauthors = Barth RF, Grecula JC, Yang W, Rotaru JH, Nawrocky M, Gupta N, Albertson BJ, Ferketich AK, Moeschberger ML, Coderre JA, Rofstad EK | display-authors = 6 | title = Combination of boron neutron capture therapy and external beam radiotherapy for brain tumors | journal = International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics | volume = 58 | issue = 1 | pages = 267–77 | date = January 2004 | pmid = 14697448 | doi = 10.1016/S0360-3016(03)01613-4 }}</ref> which showed that BNCT in combination with X-irradiation produced enhanced survival compared to BNCT alone, in another study, Miyatake and Kawabata combined BNCT, as described above, with an X-ray boost.<ref name="Kawabata"/> A total dose of 20 to 30&nbsp;Gy was administered, divided into 2&nbsp;Gy daily fractions. The MST of this group of patients (with newly diagnosed glioblastomas) was 23.5&nbsp;months and no significant toxicity was observed, other than hair loss (alopecia). However, a significant subset of these patients, a high proportion of which had small-cell variant glioblastomas, developed cerebrospinal fluid dissemination of their tumors.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kondo N, Barth RF, Miyatake SI, Kawabata S, Suzuki M, Ono K, Lehman NL | title = Cerebrospinal fluid dissemination of high-grade gliomas following boron neutron capture therapy occurs more frequently in the small cell subtype of IDH1{{sup|R132H}} mutation-negative glioblastoma | journal = Journal of Neuro-Oncology | volume = 133 | issue = 1 | pages = 107–118 | date = May 2017 | pmid = 28534152 | pmc = 5786264 | doi = 10.1007/s11060-017-2408-x }}</ref>

====Japan (2011) - glioblastomas==== In another Japanese trial with patients with newly diagnosed glioblastomas, carried out by Yamamoto et al., BPA and BSH were infused over 1&nbsp;h, followed by BNCT at the Japan Research Reactor (JRR)-4 reactor.<ref name="Yamamoto">{{cite journal | vauthors = Yamamoto T, Nakai K, Nariai T, Kumada H, Okumura T, Mizumoto M, Tsuboi K, Zaboronok A, Ishikawa E, Aiyama H, Endo K, Takada T, Yoshida F, Shibata Y, Matsumura A | display-authors = 6 | title = The status of Tsukuba BNCT trial: BPA-based boron neutron capture therapy combined with X-ray irradiation | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 69 | issue = 12 | pages = 1817–8 | date = December 2011 | pmid = 21393005 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.02.013 | bibcode = 2011AppRI..69.1817Y }}</ref> Patients subsequently received an X-ray boost after completion of BNCT. The overall median survival time (MeST) was 27.1&nbsp;months, and the 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 87.5% and 62.5%, respectively.

Based on the reports of Miyatake, Kawabata, and Yamamoto, combining BNCT with an X-ray boost can produce a significant therapeutic gain. However, further studies are needed to optimize this combined therapy alone or in combination with other approaches including chemo- and immunotherapy, and to evaluate it using a larger patient population.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kawabata S, Miyatake S, Hiramatsu R, Hirota Y, Miyata S, Takekita Y, Kuroiwa T, Kirihata M, Sakurai Y, Maruhashi A, Ono K | display-authors = 6 | title = Phase II clinical study of boron neutron capture therapy combined with X-ray radiotherapy/temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme--study design and current status report | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 69 | issue = 12 | pages = 1796–9 | date = December 2011 | pmid = 21459588 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.03.014 | bibcode = 2011AppRI..69.1796K }}</ref>

====Japan (2021) - meningiomas==== Miyatake and his co-workers also have treated a cohort of 44&nbsp;patients with recurrent high-grade meningiomas (HGM) that were refractory to all other therapeutic approaches.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Takai S, Wanibuchi M, Kawabata S, Takeuchi K, Sakurai Y, Suzuki M, Ono K, Miyatake SI | display-authors = 6 | title = Reactor-based boron neutron capture therapy for 44 cases of recurrent and refractory high-grade meningiomas with long-term follow-up | journal = Neuro-Oncology | date = May 2021 | volume = 24 | pages = 90–98 | pmid = 33984146 | doi = 10.1093/neuonc/noab108 | pmc = 8730746 | doi-access = free }}</ref> The clinical regimen consisted of intravenous administration of boronophenylalanine two hours before neutron irradiation at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute in Kumatori, Japan. Effectiveness was determined using radiographic evidence of tumor shrinkage, overall survival (OS) after initial diagnosis, OS after BNCT, and radiographic patterns associated with treatment failure.

The median OS after BNCT was 29.6&nbsp;months and 98.4&nbsp;months after diagnosis. Better responses were seen in patients with lower-grade tumors. In 35 of 36 patients, there was tumor shrinkage, and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 13.7&nbsp;months. There was good local control of the patients' tumors, as evidenced by the fact that only 22.2% of them experienced local recurrence of their tumors. From these results, it was concluded that BNCT was effective in locally controlling tumor growth, shrinking tumors, and improving survival with acceptable safety in patients with therapeutically refractory HGMs.

{| class="wikitable" |- |+ Table 2. Past BNCT clinical trials using an epithermal neutron beams for BNCT of patients with gliomas* |- ! Reactor facility* !! No. of patients and duration of trial !! Delivery agent !! Median survival time (months) !! Reference no. |- | BMRR, US || 53 (1994–1999) || BPA 250–330&nbsp;mg/kg || 12.8 ||<ref name="Diaz" /> |- | MITR, MIT, US || 20 (1996–1999) || BPA 250 or 350&nbsp;mg/kg || 11.1 ||<ref name="Busse" /> |- | KURRI, Japan || 40 (1998–2008) || BPA 500&nbsp;mg/kg || 23.5 (primary + X-ray) ||<ref name="Kawabata" /><ref name="Miyatake" /> |- | JRR4, Japan || 15 (1998–2007) || BPA 250&nbsp;mg/kg + BSH 5 g || 10.8 (recurrent), 27.1 (+ X-ray) ||<ref name="Yamamoto" /> |- | R2-0, Studsvik Medical AB, Sweden || 30 (2001–2007) || BPA 900&nbsp;mg/kg || 17.7 (primary)||<ref name="Henriksson" /><ref name="Skold" /> |- | FiR1, Finland || 50 (1999–2012) || BPA 290–400&nbsp;mg/kg || 11.0 – 21.9 (primary), 7.0 (recurrent) ||<ref name="Kankaanarant" /> |- | HFR, Netherlands || 26 (1997–2002) || BSH 100&nbsp;mg/kg || 10.4 – 13.2 ||<ref>{{cite conference|display-authors=6|year=2002|title=Current clinical results of the EORTC – study 11961|conference=Research and Development in Neutron Capture Therapy Proc. 10th Intl. Congress on Neutron Capture Therapy|pages=1117–22|vauthors=Wittig A, Hideghety K, Paquis P, Heimans J, Vos M, Goetz C, Haselsberger K, Grochulla F, Moss R, Morrissey J, Bourhis-Martin E|veditors=Sauerwein W, Mass R, Wittig A}}</ref> |- ! colspan="5" style="background: #efefef;" 1 |<small>* A more comprehensive compilation of data relating to BNCT clinical trials can be found in ''Radiation Oncology'' 7:146–167, 2012<ref name="Barth et al 2012" /></small> |}

===Clinical studies in Finland=== The technological and physical aspects of the Finnish BNCT program have been described in considerable detail by Savolainen et al.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Savolainen S, Kortesniemi M, Timonen M, Reijonen V, Kuusela L, Uusi-Simola J, Salli E, Koivunoro H, Seppälä T, Lönnroth N, Välimäki P, Hyvönen H, Kotiluoto P, Serén T, Kuronen A, Heikkinen S, Kosunen A, Auterinen I | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) in Finland: technological and physical prospects after 20 years of experiences | journal = Physica Medica | volume = 29 | issue = 3 | pages = 233–48 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 22613369 | doi = 10.1016/j.ejmp.2012.04.008 }}</ref> A team of clinicians led by Heikki Joensuu and Leena Kankaanranta and nuclear engineers led by Iro Auterinen and Hanna Koivunoro at the Helsinki University Central Hospital and VTT Technical Research Center of Finland have treated approximately 200+ patients with recurrent malignant gliomas (glioblastomas) and head and neck cancer who had undergone standard therapy, recurred, and subsequently received BNCT at the time of their recurrence using BPA as the boron delivery agent.<ref name="Kankaanarant"/><ref name="Kanakaanranta Boron Neutron"/> The median time to progression in patients with gliomas was 3 months, and the overall MeST was 7 months. It is difficult to compare these results with other reported results in patients with recurrent malignant gliomas, but they are a starting point for future studies using BNCT as salvage therapy in patients with recurrent tumors. Due to a variety of reasons, including financial,<ref name="Kulvik">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kulvik M, Hermans R, Linnosmaa I, Shalowitz J | title = An economic model to assess the cost-benefit of BNCT | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 106 | pages = 3–9 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 26365901 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.08.021 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2015AppRI.106....3K }}</ref> no further studies have been carried out at this facility, which has been decommissioned. However, a new facility for BNCT treatment has been installed using an accelerator designed and fabricated by Neutron Therapeutics.<ref name="Boron neutron capture therapy at th">{{cite journal | vauthors = Barth RF, Grecula JC | title = Boron neutron capture therapy at the crossroads - Where do we go from here? | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 160 | article-number = 109029 | date = June 2020 | pmid = 32351210 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.109029 | bibcode = 2020AppRI.16009029B | s2cid = 214170621 }}</ref> This accelerator was specifically designed to be used in a hospital, and the BNCT treatment and clinical studies will be carried out there after dosimetric studies have been completed in 2021. Both Finnish and foreign patients are expected to be treated at the facility.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hus.fi/hus-tietoa/uutishuone/Sivut/BNCT-s%C3%A4dehoitolaite-HUSiin-ensimm%C3%A4isen%C3%A4-maailmassa.aspx|title=HUS - BNCT-sädehoitolaite HUS:iin ensimmäisenä maailmassa|website=www.hus.fi|language=fi, en|access-date=27 July 2017|archive-date=8 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208175417/http://www.hus.fi/hus-tietoa/uutishuone/Sivut/BNCT-s%C3%A4dehoitolaite-HUSiin-ensimm%C3%A4isen%C3%A4-maailmassa.aspx}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hs.fi/tiede/art-2000002920910.html|title=Helsingissä testataan mullistavaa syöpähoitoa – nyt ilman ydinreaktoria|date=15 September 2016|work=Helsingin Sanomat| vauthors = Kivimäki A |language=fi|access-date=27 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.med.helsinki.fi/english/news/2016/20160916_bnct.html|title=Faculty of Medicine – University of Helsinki|website=www.med.helsinki.fi|access-date=27 July 2017|date=2016-06-10}}</ref>

===Clinical studies in Sweden=== To conclude this section on treating brain tumors with BNCT using reactor neutron sources, a clinical trial that was carried out by Stenstam, Sköld, Capala, and their co-workers in Studsvik, Sweden, using an epithermal neutron beam produced by the Studsvik nuclear reactor, which had greater tissue penetration properties than the thermal beams originally used in the United States and Japan, will be briefly summarized. This study differed significantly from all previous clinical trials in that the total amount of BPA administered was increased (900&nbsp;mg/kg), and it was infused i.v. over 6 hours. This was based on experimental animal studies in glioma-bearing rats demonstrating enhanced uptake of BPA by infiltrating tumor cells following a 6-hour infusion.<ref name="Barth 2015"/><ref name="Henriksson">{{cite journal | vauthors = Henriksson R, Capala J, Michanek A, Lindahl SA, Salford LG, Franzén L, Blomquist E, Westlin JE, Bergenheim AT | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for glioblastoma multiforme: a phase II study evaluating a prolonged high-dose of boronophenylalanine (BPA) | journal = Radiotherapy and Oncology | volume = 88 | issue = 2 | pages = 183–91 | date = August 2008 | pmid = 18336940 | doi = 10.1016/j.radonc.2006.04.015 | collaboration = Swedish Brain Tumour Study Group }}</ref><ref name="Skold">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sköld K, Gorlia T, Pellettieri L, Giusti V, H-Stenstam B, Hopewell JW | title = Boron neutron capture therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme: an assessment of clinical potential | journal = The British Journal of Radiology | volume = 83 | issue = 991 | pages = 596–603 | date = July 2010 | pmid = 20603410 | pmc = 3473677 | doi = 10.1259/bjr/56953620 }}</ref><ref name="Smith et al 2001">{{cite journal | vauthors = Smith DR, Chandra S, Barth RF, Yang W, Joel DD, Coderre JA | title = Quantitative imaging and microlocalization of boron-10 in brain tumors and infiltrating tumor cells by SIMS ion microscopy: relevance to neutron capture therapy | journal = Cancer Research | volume = 61 | issue = 22 | pages = 8179–87 | date = November 2001 | pmid = 11719448 | url = https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/61/22/8179.full.pdf }}</ref> The longer infusion time of the BPA was well-tolerated by the 30 patients who were enrolled in this study. All were treated with 2 fields, and the average whole-brain dose was 3.2–6.1&nbsp;Gy (weighted), and the minimum dose to the tumor ranged from 15.4 to 54.3&nbsp;Gy (w). There has been some disagreement among the Swedish investigators regarding the evaluation of the results. Based on incomplete survival data, the MeST was reported as 14.2&nbsp;months and the time to tumor progression was 5.8&nbsp;months.<ref name="Henriksson"/> However, more careful examination<ref name="Skold"/> of the complete survival data revealed that the MeST was 17.7&nbsp;months compared to 15.5&nbsp;months that has been reported for patients who received standard therapy of surgery, followed by radiotherapy (RT) and the drug temozolomide (TMZ).<ref name="Stupp">{{cite journal | vauthors = Stupp R, Hegi ME, Mason WP, van den Bent MJ, Taphoorn MJ, Janzer RC, Ludwin SK, Allgeier A, Fisher B, Belanger K, Hau P, Brandes AA, Gijtenbeek J, Marosi C, Vecht CJ, Mokhtari K, Wesseling P, Villa S, Eisenhauer E, Gorlia T, Weller M, Lacombe D, Cairncross JG, Mirimanoff RO | display-authors = 6 | title = Effects of radiotherapy with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide versus radiotherapy alone on survival in glioblastoma in a randomised phase III study: 5-year analysis of the EORTC-NCIC trial | journal = The Lancet. Oncology | volume = 10 | issue = 5 | pages = 459–66 | date = May 2009 | pmid = 19269895 | doi = 10.1016/S1470-2045(09)70025-7 | s2cid = 25150249 | collaboration = National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group }}</ref> Furthermore, the frequency of adverse events was lower after BNCT (14%) than after radiation therapy (RT) alone (21%), and both of these were lower than those seen following RT in combination with TMZ. If this improved survival data, obtained using the higher dose of BPA and a 6-hour infusion time, can be confirmed by others, preferably in a randomized clinical trial, it could represent a significant step forward in BNCT of brain tumors, especially if combined with a photon boost.

==Clinical studies of BNCT for extracranial tumors== ===Head and neck cancers=== The single most important clinical advance over the past 15 years<ref name="Kato">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kato I, Fujita Y, Maruhashi A, Kumada H, Ohmae M, Kirihata M, Imahori Y, Suzuki M, Sakrai Y, Sumi T, Iwai S, Nakazawa M, Murata I, Miyamaru H, Ono K | display-authors = 6 | title = Effectiveness of boron neutron capture therapy for recurrent head and neck malignancies | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 67 | issue = 7-8 Suppl | pages = S37-42 | date = July 2009 | pmid = 19409799 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.03.103 | bibcode = 2009AppRI..67..S37K }}</ref> has been the application of BNCT to treat patients with recurrent tumors of the head and neck region who had failed all other therapy. These studies were first initiated by Kato et al. in Japan.<ref name="Kato" /><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kato I, Ono K, Sakurai Y, Ohmae M, Maruhashi A, Imahori Y, Kirihata M, Nakazawa M, Yura Y | display-authors = 6 | title = Effectiveness of BNCT for recurrent head and neck malignancies | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 61 | issue = 5 | pages = 1069–73 | date = November 2004 | pmid = 15308194 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.05.059 | bibcode = 2004AppRI..61.1069K }}</ref> and subsequently followed by several other Japanese groups and by Kankaanranta, Joensuu, Auterinen, Koivunoro, and their co-workers in Finland.<ref name="Kanakaanranta Boron Neutron"/> All of these studies employed BPA as the boron delivery agent, usually alone but occasionally in combination with BSH. A very heterogeneous group of patients with a variety of histopathologic types of tumors have been treated, the largest number of which had recurrent squamous cell carcinomas. Kato et al. have reported on a series of 26&nbsp;patients with far-advanced cancer for whom there were no further treatment options.<ref name="Kato"/> Either BPA + BSH or BPA alone were administered by a 1- or 2-hour i.v. infusion, and this was followed by BNCT using an epithermal beam. In this series, there were complete regressions in 12&nbsp;cases, 10 partial regressions, and progression in 3 cases. The MST was 13.6&nbsp;months, and the 6-year survival was 24%. Significant treatment related complications ("adverse" events) included transient mucositis, alopecia, and, rarely, brain necrosis and osteomyelitis.

Kankaanranta et al. have reported their results in a prospective Phase I/II study of 30 patients with inoperable, locally recurrent squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck region.<ref name="Kanakaanranta Boron Neutron"/> Patients received either two or, in a few instances, one BNCT treatment using BPA (400&nbsp;mg/kg), administered i.v. over 2&nbsp;hours, followed by neutron irradiation. Of 29 evaluated patients, there were 13 complete and 9 partial remissions, with an overall response rate of 76%. The most common adverse event was oral mucositis, oral pain, and fatigue. Based on the clinical results, it was concluded that BNCT was effective for the treatment of inoperable, previously irradiated patients with head and neck cancer. Some responses were durable but progression was common, usually at the site of the previously recurrent tumor. As previously indicated in the section on neutron sources, all clinical studies have ended in Finland, for variety of reasons including economic difficulties of the two companies directly involved, VTT and Boneca. However, clinical studies using an accelerator neutron source designed and fabricated by Neutron Therapeutics and installed at the Helsinki University Hospital should be fully functional by 2022.<ref name="Boron neutron capture therapy at th"/>{{Update inline|date=August 2025}} Finally, a group in Taiwan, led by Ling-Wei Wang and his co-workers at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, have treated 17 patients with locally recurrent head and neck cancers at the Tsing Hua Open-pool Reactor (THOR) of the National Tsing Hua University.<ref name="Wang1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wang LW, Liu YH, Chou FI, Jiang SH | title = Clinical trials for treating recurrent head and neck cancer with boron neutron capture therapy using the Tsing-Hua Open Pool Reactor | journal = Cancer Communications | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | date = June 2018 | page = 37 | pmid = 29914577 | pmc = 6006853 | doi = 10.1186/s40880-018-0295-y | doi-access = free }}</ref> Two-year overall survival was 47%, and two-year loco-regional control was 28%. Further studies are in progress to further optimize their treatment regimen.

===Other types of tumor=== ====Melanoma and extramammary Paget's disease==== Other extracranial tumors that have been treated with BNCT include malignant melanomas. The original studies were carried out in Japan by the late Yutaka Mishima and his clinical team in the Department of Dermatology at Kobe University<ref name="Mishima">{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-9567-7_1 |year=1996 |vauthors = Mishima Y |title=Cancer Neutron Capture Therapy |chapter=Selective Thermal Neutron Capture Therapy of Cancer Cells Using their Specific Metabolic Activities—Melanoma as Prototype |isbn=978-1-4757-9569-1 |pages=1–26 | veditors = Mishima Y }}</ref> using locally injected BPA and a thermal neutron beam. It is important to point out that it was Mishima who first used BPA as a boron delivery agent, and this approach subsequently was extended to other types of tumors based on the experimental animal studies of Coderre et al. at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Coderre JA, Joel DD, Micca PL, Nawrocky MM, Slatkin DN | title = Control of intracerebral gliosarcomas in rats by boron neutron capture therapy with p-boronophenylalanine | journal = Radiation Research | volume = 129 | issue = 3 | pages = 290–6 | date = March 1992 | pmid = 1542717 | doi = 10.2307/3578028 | bibcode = 1992RadR..129..290C | jstor = 3578028 }}</ref> Local control was achieved in almost all patients, and some were cured of their melanomas. Patients with melanoma of the head and neck region, vulva, and extramammary Paget's disease of the genital region have been treated by Hiratsuka et al. with promising clinical results.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hiratsuka J, Kamitani N, Tanaka R, Yoden E, Tokiya R, Suzuki M, Barth RF, Ono K | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy for vulvar melanoma and genital extramammary Paget's disease with curative responses | journal = Cancer Communications | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | date = June 2018 | page = 38 | pmid = 29914570 | pmc = 6006671 | doi = 10.1186/s40880-018-0297-9 | doi-access = free }}{{verify source|date=May 2018}}</ref> The first clinical trial of BNCT in Argentina for the treatment of melanomas was performed in October 2003,<ref name="cnea.gov.ar">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnea.gov.ar/xxi/bnct/eng/e-proyecto-cnea.asp |title=The BNCT Project at the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) |publisher=Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323100804/http://www.cnea.gov.ar/xxi/bnct/eng/e-proyecto-cnea.asp |archive-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> and since then several patients with cutaneous melanomas have been treated as part of a Phase II clinical trial at the RA-6 nuclear reactor in Bariloche. The neutron beam has a mixed thermal-hyperthermal neutron spectrum that can be used to treat superficial tumors.<ref name="cnea.gov.ar"/> The In-Hospital Neutron Irradiator (IHNI) in Beijing has been used to treat a small number of patients with cutaneous melanomas with a complete response of the primary lesion and no evidence of late radiation injury during a 24+-month follow-up period.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Yong Z, Song Z, Zhou Y, Liu T, Zhang Z, Zhao Y, Chen Y, Jin C, Chen X, Lu J, Han R, Li P, Sun X, Wang G, Shi G, Zhu S | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy for malignant melanoma: first clinical case report in China | journal = Chinese Journal of Cancer Research = Chung-Kuo Yen Cheng Yen Chiu | volume = 28 | issue = 6 | pages = 634–640 | date = December 2016 | pmid = 28174492 | pmc = 5242447 | doi = 10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2016.06.10 }}</ref>

====Colorectal cancer==== Two patients with colon cancer, which had spread to the liver, have been treated by Zonta and his co-workers at the University of Pavia in Italy.<ref name="Zonta">{{cite journal | vauthors = Zonta A, Pinelli T, Prati U, Roveda L, Ferrari C, Clerici AM, Zonta C, Mazzini G, Dionigi P, Altieri S, Bortolussi S, Bruschi P, Fossati F | display-authors = 6 | title = Extra-corporeal liver BNCT for the treatment of diffuse metastases: what was learned and what is still to be learned | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 67 | issue = 7-8 Suppl | pages = S67-75 | date = July 2009 | pmid = 19394837 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.03.087 | bibcode = 2009AppRI..67..S67Z }}</ref> The first was treated in 2001 and the second in mid-2003. The patients received an i.v. infusion of BPA, followed by removal of the liver (hepatectomy), which was irradiated outside of the body (extracorporeal BNCT) and then re-transplanted into the patient. The first patient did remarkably well and survived for over 4 years after treatment, but the second died within a month of cardiac complications.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1088/1742-6596/41/1/054 |title=Clinical lessons from the first applications of BNCT on unresectable liver metastases |year=2006 | vauthors = Zonta A, Prati U, Roveda L, Ferrari C, Zonta S, Clerici AM, Zonta C, Pinelli T, Fossati F, Altieri S, Bortolussi S | display-authors = 6 |journal=Journal of Physics: Conference Series |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=484–95 |bibcode=2006JPhCS..41..484Z |doi-access=free }}</ref> Clearly, this is a very challenging approach for the treatment of hepatic metastases, and it is unlikely that it will ever be widely used. Nevertheless, the good clinical results in the first patient established ''proof of principle''. Finally, Yanagie and his colleagues at Meiji Pharmaceutical University in Japan have treated several patients with recurrent rectal cancer using BNCT. Although no long-term results have been reported, there was evidence of short-term clinical responses.<ref>Yanagie, H., Oyama, K., Hatae, R. et al. Clinical experiences of boron neutron capture therapy to recurrenced rectal cancers. Abstracts 16th Intl' Congress on Neutron Capture Therapy. Helsinki, Finland, 14–19 June 2014</ref>

==Accelerators as neutron sources== Accelerators now are the primary source of epithermal neutrons for clinical BNCT. The first papers relating to their possible use were published in the 1980s, and, as summarized by Blue and Yanch,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Blue TE, Yanch JC | title = Accelerator-based epithermal neutron sources for boron neutron capture therapy of brain tumors | journal = Journal of Neuro-Oncology | volume = 62 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 19–31 | date = 2003 | pmid = 12749700 | doi = 10.1007/bf02699931 | s2cid = 19257645 }}</ref> this topic became an active area of research in the early 2000s. However, it was the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011 that gave impetus to their development for clinical use. Accelerators also can be used to produce epithermal neutrons. Today several accelerator-based neutron sources (ABNS) are commercially available or under development. Most existing or planned systems use either the lithium-7 reaction, {{sup|7}}Li(p,n){{sup|7}}Be or the beryllium-9 reaction, ⁹Be(p,n)⁹B, to generate neutrons, though other nuclear reactions also have been considered.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kreiner AJ, Bergueiro J, Cartelli D, Baldo M, Castell W, Asoia JG, Padulo J, Suárez Sandín JC, Igarzabal M, Erhardt J, Mercuri D, Valda AA, Minsky DM, Debray ME, Somacal HR, Capoulat ME, Herrera MS, Del Grosso MF, Gagetti L, Anzorena MS, Canepa N, Real N, Gun M, Tacca H | display-authors = 6 | title = Present status of Accelerator-Based BNCT | journal = Reports of Practical Oncology and Radiotherapy | volume = 21 | issue = 2 | pages = 95–101 | date = 2016 | pmid = 26933390 | doi = 10.1016/j.rpor.2014.11.004 | pmc = 4747659 }}</ref> The lithium-7 reaction requires a proton accelerator with energies between 1.9 and 3.0&nbsp;MeV, while the beryllium-9 reaction typically uses accelerators with energies between 5 and 30&nbsp;MeV. Aside from the lower proton energy that the lithium-7 reaction requires, its main benefit is the lower energy of the neutrons produced. This in turn allows the use of smaller moderators, "cleaner" neutron beams, and reduced neutron activation. Benefits of the beryllium-9 reaction include simplified target design and disposal, long target lifetime, and lower required proton beam current.

Since the proton beams for BNCT are quite powerful (~20-100&nbsp;kW), the neutron generating target must incorporate cooling systems capable of removing the heat safely and reliably to protect the target from damage. In the case of the lithium-7, this requirement is especially important due to the low melting point and chemical volatility of the target material. Liquid jets, micro-channels and rotating targets have been employed to solve this problem. Several researchers have proposed the use of liquid lithium-7 targets in which the target material doubles as the coolant.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kobayashi T, Miura K, Hayashizaki N, Aritomi M | title = Development of liquid-lithium film jet-flow for the target of (7)Li(p,n)(7)Be reactions for BNCT | journal = Applied Radiation and Isotopes | volume = 88 | pages = 198–202 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24412425 | doi = 10.1016/j.apradiso.2013.12.013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Paul M, Silverman I, Halfon S, Sukoriansky S, Mikhailovich B, Palchan T, Kapusta A, Shoihet A, Kijel D, Arenshtam A, Barami E | display-authors = 6 |date=2020|title=A 50 kW Liquid-Lithium Target for BNCT and Material-Science Applications |journal=EPJ Web of Conferences|volume=231|page=03004|doi=10.1051/epjconf/202023103004| bibcode = 2020EPJWC.23103004P | s2cid = 216161645 |issn=2100-014X|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the case of beryllium-9, "thin" targets, in which the protons come to rest and deposit much of their energy in the cooling fluid, can be employed. Target degradation due to beam exposure ("blistering") is another problem to be solved, either by using layers of materials resistant to blistering or by spreading the protons over a large target area. Since the nuclear reactions yield neutrons with energies ranging from < 100keV to tens of MeV, a beam-shaping assembly (BSA)<ref>{{Cite conference <!-- Citation bot no -->| vauthors = Uritani A, Menjo Y, Watanabe K, Yamazaki A, Kiyanagi Y, Tsuchida K |title=Proceedings of the International Conference on Neutron Optics (NOP2017) |chapter=Design of Beam Shaping Assembly for an Accelerator-driven BNCT System in Nagoya University |date=2018-11-28|at=011002|publisher=Journal of the Physical Society of Japan|doi=10.7566/jpscp.22.011002|bibcode=2018neop.confa1002U|isbn=978-4-89027-132-0|doi-access=free}}</ref> must be used to moderate, filter, reflect, and collimate the neutron beam to achieve the desired epithermal energy range, neutron beam size, and direction. BSAs are typically composed of a range of materials with desirable nuclear properties for each function. A well-designed BSA should maximize neutron yield per proton while minimizing fast neutron, thermal neutron, and gamma contamination. It should also produce a sharply delimited and generally forward-directed beam, enabling flexible positioning of the patient relative to the aperture.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors= Coderre J |date=2001|title=Current Status of Neutron Capture Therapy |journal=IAEA-Tecdoc-1223 |pages=1–302 | url = https://www.iaea.org/publications/6168/current-status-of-neutron-capture-therapy | publisher = International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) }}</ref> One key challenge for an ABNS is the duration of treatment time: depending on the neutron beam intensity, treatments can take up to an hour or more. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the treatment time both for patient comfort during immobilization and to increase the number of patients that could be treated in a 24-hour period. Increasing the neutron beam intensity for the same proton current by adjusting the BSA is often achieved at the cost of reduced beam quality (higher levels of unwanted fast neutrons or gamma rays in the beam or poor beam collimation). Therefore, increasing the proton current delivered by ABNS BNCT systems remains a key goal of technology development programs.

The table below summarizes the existing or planned ABNS installations for clinical use (updated November, 2024). {| class="wikitable" !Manufacturer

Product

Reaction

Accelerator type !Host institution !First clinical use !Status |- | rowspan="4" |Sumitomo Heavy Industries<ref>{{Cite web |title=BNCT System NeuCure® {{!}} BNCT System {{!}} MEDICAL {{!}} Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. Industrial Equipment Division |url=https://www.shi.co.jp/industrial/en/product/medical/bnct/neucure.html |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=www.shi.co.jp}}</ref>

NeuCure

⁹Be(p,n)⁹B

Cyclotron |Particle Radiation Oncology Research Center, Kyoto University, Kumatori, Japan |2012 |Retired from clinical use |- |Southern Tohoku BCNT Research Center, Southern Tohoku General Hospital, Koriyama,

Fukushima, Japan |2016 |Active clinical use (approved) |- |Kansai BNCT Research Center, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan |2020 |Active clinical use (approved) |- |Pengbo Co., Ltd. in the Hainan Medical Tourism Pilot Zone<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notice Regarding Our First Overseas Introduction of BNCT in the Hainan Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, China |url=https://www.shi.co.jp/english/info/2022/6kgpsq0000003azq.html |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. |language=en}}</ref> |N/A |Under construction |- | rowspan="2" |Cancer Intelligence Care Systems

⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be

RFQ |National Cancer Center, Tsukiji, Tokyo, Japan |2019 |Active clinical use (clinical trial) |- |Edogawa Hospital, Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan |2023 |Active clinical use (clinical trial) |- |Neuboron Medical Group<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://en.neuboron.com |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=en.neuboron.com}}</ref>

NeuPex

⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be

Tandem Electrostatic |Xiamen Humanity Hospital, Xiamen, China |2022 |Active clinical use (clinical trial) |- |Dawon Medax<ref>{{Cite web |title=DAWON MEDAX |url=https://www.dawonmedax.com/en/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=www.dawonmedax.com}}</ref>

⁹Be(p,n)⁹B

LINAC |BNCT Clinic in the BRC Center, Songdo, Incheon, South Korea |2022 |Active clinical use (clinical trial) |- |University of Tsukuba

iBNCT<ref>{{Cite journal |display-authors=6 |vauthors=Kumada H, Naito F, Hasegawa K, Kobayashi H, Kurihara T, Takada K, Onishi T, Sakurai H, Matsumura A, Sakae T |date=2018 |title=Development of LINAC-Based Neutron Source for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy in University of Tsukuba |journal=Plasma and Fusion Research |volume=13 |article-number=2406006 |bibcode=2018PFR....1306006K |doi=10.1585/pfr.13.2406006 |issn=1880-6821 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2241/00154681}}</ref>

⁹Be(p,n)⁹B

LINAC |University of Tsukuba, Tokai, Ibaraki, Japan |2024 |Active clinical use (clinical trial) |- | rowspan="2" |Neutron Therapeutics<ref>{{Cite web |title=Technology |url=https://www.neutrontherapeutics.com/technology/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Neutron Therapeutics |language=en-US}}</ref>

nuBeam

⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be

Single-ended electrostatic |Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland |N/A |Operational |- |Shonan Kamakura General Hospital, Kamakura,

Kanagawa, Japan |N/A |Operational |- |CASBNCT

D-BNCT

⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be

LINAC |Dongguan Peoples Hospital, Dongguan, Guangdong, China |N/A |Operational |- |Lanzhou University

⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be

LINAC |Fujian Medical University Union Hospital (Mazu Branch), Putian City, Fujian, China |N/A |Operational |- |TAE Life Sciences

Alphabeam

⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be

Tandem Electrostatic |CNAO (National Center of Oncological Hadrontherapy), Pavia, Italy |N/A |Under construction |} <!-- hiding undated "planned or under construction" paragraph fulla untagged external links in body. someone else can verify / fix.

In addition, two other ABNSs are in planning or under construction: NeuBoron Medtech, <nowiki>https://en.neuboron.com/products</nowiki>; and TAE Life Sciences, <nowiki>https://taelifesciences.com/alphabeam-neutron-system/</nowiki>. Several companies have announced plans to develop ABNS for BNCT, including Heron Neutron Medical (Taiwan), <nowiki>https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20201221PD206.html</nowiki>, and Fukushima SiC Applied Engineering (Japan), http://en.fukushima-sic.co.jp/. BNCT accelerator research projects with hardware in place also exist at several research institutions in Argentina, Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Korea. -->

==Clinical studies using accelerator neutron sources== ===Treatment of recurrent malignant gliomas=== The single greatest advance in moving BNCT forward clinically has been the introduction of cyclotron-based neutron sources (c-BNS) in Japan. Shin-ichi Miyatake and Shinji Kawabata have led the way with the treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastomas (GBMs).<ref name=":3">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kawabata S, Suzuki M, Hirose K, Tanaka H, Kato T, Goto H, Narita Y, Miyatake SI | display-authors = 6 | title = Accelerator-based BNCT for patients with recurrent glioblastoma: a multicenter phase II study | journal = Neuro-Oncology Advances | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | article-number = vdab067 | date = 2021-01-01 | pmid = 34151269 | pmc = 8209606 | doi = 10.1093/noajnl/vdab067 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Kawabata S, Hiramatsu R, Matsushita Y, Kanemitsu T, Shiba H, Takeuchi K, Nonoguchi N, Kuroiwa T, Tanaka H, Sakurai Y, Akita K | display-authors = 6 |date=2017|title=Reactor-based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) for the patients with recurrent malignant glioma|journal=Journal of the Neurological Sciences|volume=381|page=173|doi=10.1016/j.jns.2017.08.502| s2cid = 54432434 |issn=0022-510X}}</ref> In their Phase II clinical trial, they used the Sumitomo Heavy Industries accelerator at the Osaka Medical College, Kansai BNCT Medical Center to treat a total of 24 patients.<ref name=":3" /> These patients ranged in age from 20 to 75 years, and all previously had received standard treatment consisting of surgery followed by chemotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ) and conventional radiation therapy. They were candidates for treatment with BNCT because their tumors had recurred and were progressing in size. They received an intravenous infusion of a proprietary formulation of ¹⁰B-enriched boronophenylalanine ("Borofalan," StellaPharma Corporation, Osaka, Japan) prior to neutron irradiation. The primary endpoint of this study was the 1-year survival rate after BNCT, which was 79.2%, and the median overall survival rate was 18.9&nbsp;months. Based on these results, it was concluded that c-BNS BNCT was safe and resulted in increased survival of patients with recurrent gliomas. Although there was an increased risk of brain edema due to re-irradiation, this was easily controlled.<ref name=":3" /> As a result of this trial, the Sumitomo accelerator was approved by the Japanese regulatory authority having jurisdiction over medical devices, and further studies are being carried out with patients who have recurrent, high-grade (malignant) meningiomas. However, further studies for the treatment of patients with GBMs have been put on hold pending additional analysis of the results.

===Treatment of recurrent or locally advanced cancers of the head and neck=== Katsumi Hirose and his co-workers at the Southern Tohoku BNCT Research Center in Koriyama, Japan, have reported on their results after treating 21 patients with recurrent tumors of the head and neck region.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hirose K, Konno A, Hiratsuka J, Yoshimoto S, Kato T, Ono K, Otsuki N, Hatazawa J, Tanaka H, Takayama K, Wada H, Suzuki M, Sato M, Yamaguchi H, Seto I, Ueki Y, Iketani S, Imai S, Nakamura T, Ono T, Endo H, Azami Y, Kikuchi Y, Murakami M, Takai Y | display-authors = 6 | title = Boron neutron capture therapy using cyclotron-based epithermal neutron source and borofalan (¹⁰B) for recurrent or locally advanced head and neck cancer (JHN002): An open-label phase II trial | journal = Radiotherapy and Oncology | volume = 155 | pages = 182–187 | date = February 2021 | pmid = 33186684 | doi = 10.1016/j.radonc.2020.11.001 | doi-access = free }}</ref> All of these patients had received surgery, chemotherapy, and conventional radiation therapy. Eight of them had recurrent squamous cell carcinomas (R-SCC), and 13 had either recurrent (R) or locally advanced (LA) non-squamous-cell carcinomas (nSCC). The overall response rate was 71%, and the complete response and partial response rates were 50% and 25%, respectively, for patients with R-SCC and 80% and 62%, respectively, for those with R or LA SCC. The overall 2-year survival rates for patients with R-SCC or R/LA nSCC were 58% and 100%, respectively. The treatment was well tolerated, and adverse events were those usually associated with conventional radiation treatment of these tumors. These patients had received a proprietary formulation of ¹⁰B-enriched boronophenylalanine (Borofalan), which was administered intravenously. Although the manufacturer of the accelerator was not identified, it presumably was the one manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., which was indicated in the Acknowledgements of their report.<ref name=":1" /> Based on this Phase II clinical trial, the authors suggested that BNCT using Borofalan and c-BENS was a promising treatment for recurrent head and neck cancers, although further studies would be required to firmly establish this.

==The future== Clinical BNCT first was used to treat highly malignant brain tumors and subsequently for melanomas of the skin that were difficult to treat by surgery. Later, it was used as a type of "salvage" therapy for patients with recurrent tumors of the head and neck region. The clinical results were sufficiently promising to lead to the development of accelerator neutron sources, which will be used almost exclusively in the future.<ref name="Boron neutron capture therapy at th"/> Challenges for the future clinical success of BNCT that need to be met include the following:<ref name=":2">{{cite web|veditors=Jalisatgi S|title=ICNCT-17 Abstract Book|url=http://www.icnct17.org/AbstractBook.html#p=14|access-date=2017-01-04|website=www.icnct17.org|archive-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327222915/http://www.icnct17.org/AbstractBook.html#p=14}}</ref><ref name="18th">{{cite web|title=18th International Congress on Neutron Capture Therapy Abstract Book|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Geszi-0K3KlvO6z4FBkLdCEfXP1b4UYQ/view|access-date=17 April 2019|website=www.icnct18.org}}</ref><ref name="Barth et al 2012" /><ref name="Moss" /><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Barth RF, Zhang Z, Liu T | title = A realistic appraisal of boron neutron capture therapy as a cancer treatment modality | journal = Cancer Communications | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | date = June 2018 | page = 36 | pmid = 29914575 | pmc = 6006699 | doi = 10.1186/s40880-018-0280-5 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Yu TL |date=2018|title=Prof. Rolf F. Barth: the future of boron neutron capture therapy will depend on the clinical trials of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy|journal=Ther. Radiol. Oncol.|volume=2|issue=58|page=58|doi=10.21037/tro.2018.11.03|doi-access=free}}</ref> #Optimizing the dosing and delivery paradigms and administration of BPA and BSH. #The development of more tumor-selective boron delivery agents for BNCT and their evaluation in large animals and ultimately in humans. #Accurate, real-time dosimetry to better estimate the radiation doses delivered to the tumor and normal tissues in patients with brain tumors and head and neck cancer. #Further clinical evaluation of accelerator-based neutron sources for the treatment of brain tumors, head and neck cancer, and other malignancies. #Reducing the cost.

==See also== *Particle therapy, neutrons, protons, or heavy ions (e.g. carbon) **Fast neutron therapy **Proton therapy

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/8056 Boron and Gadolinium Neutron Capture Therapy for Cancer Treatment] *[https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2050122/ Destroying Cancer with Boron and Neutrons - Medical Frontiers - NHK 21 February 2022]

{{Radiation oncology}} {{Nuclear technology}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Boron Category:Brain tumor Category:Gadolinium Category:Head and neck cancer Category:Medical physics Category:Neurosurgery Capture therapy of cancer Category:Radiation therapy procedures Category:Radiobiology