Boron neutron capture therapy research at the MIT research reactor

Abstract

The concept of neutron capture cancer therapy, originally suggested by Locher (l), is relatively straightforward. A compound containing a suitable neutron capture agent, e.g. ¹⁰B, is introduced into the patient. The compound must have been developed to selectively concentrate in tumor. Then the tumor and surrounding tissue are irradiated with neutrons. Neutron induced ¹⁰B(n,α) ⁷Li reactions, with a positive Q value of about 2.3 MeV, produce highly energetic alpha and lithium ions with a combined range of around 12 micrometers. The high linear energy transfer (LET) and the short combined range of the two ions assure that the cell killing will be efficient and highly localized, i.e., within the range of about one cell diameter. Thus the ¹⁰B(n,α) reaction can be thought of as a microscopic scalpel which can destroy tumor cells while sparing adjacent healthy cells.