A new approach to determine tumor-to-blood 10B concentration ratios from the clinical outcome of a BNCT treatment.
A new approach to determine the tumor-to-blood (10)B concentration ratio in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is introduced. It is a statistical method, which uses maximum likelihood estimation on the clinical outcome of a BNCT treatment. Its performance is shown in a clinical case of cutaneous multiple nodular melanomas. The calculations involve a detailed dosimetry analysis, the determination of tumor control probabilities for the different nodules, the maximum likelihood estimation itself, and a parametric bootstrap to obtain confidence intervals for the tumor-to-blood ratio. The obtained ratio is 3.05 +/- 0.46 with a 95%-confidence interval. These results are consistent with those found in literature. Moreover, a single patient with multiple nodules proves enough to get statistically relevant results. The proposed method does not involve surgery and can be performed after a BNCT treatment without being invasive for the patient.
UARyCN, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Av. Del Libertador 8250, 1429 Buenos Aires, Argentina. srgonzal@cnea.gov.ar
S J
SJ
González
D G
DG
Carando
M R
MR
Bonomi
D001895:Boron / Q000097:blood* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D016754:Boron Neutron Capture Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D006801:Humans; D007554:Isotopes / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008545:Melanoma / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage
D007554:Isotopes; D001895:Boron