A history of boron neutron capture therapy of brain tumours. Postulation of a brain radiation dose tolerance limit.
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a form of radiation therapy mediated by the short-range (less than 10 microns) energetic alpha (4He) and lithium-7 (7Li) ionizing particles that result from the prompt disintegration by slow neutrons of the stable (nonradioactive) nucleus boron-10 (10B). Recent advances in radiobiological and toxicological evaluation of tumour-affinitive boron-containing drugs and in optimization of the energies of neutrons in the incident beam have spurred interest in BNCT. This article presents a history of BNCT that emphasizes studies in the USA. A new dosimetric analysis of the 1959-1961 clinical trials of BNCT at Brookhaven National Laboratory is also presented. This analysis yields an acute radiation dose tolerance limit estimate of approximately 10 Gy-Eq to the capillary endothelium of human basal ganglia from BNCT. (Gy-Eq: Gray-equivalent, or relative biological effectiveness of a radiation component multiplied by the physical dose of the component (Gy), summed over the component kinds of radiation.)
Slatkin
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Medical Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973.
D001895:Boron / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007554:Isotopes; D009502:Neutrons; D011836:Radiation Tolerance; D013679:Technology, Radiologic / Q000266:history*
D007554:Isotopes; D001895:Boron