Boron neutron capture therapy in the new age of accelerator-based neutron production and preliminary progress in Canada

Abstract

Each year more than 3000 Canadians are diagnosed with brain cancers like glioblastoma multiforme or recurrent head and neck cancers, which are difficult to treat with conventional radiotherapy techniques. One of the most clinically promising treatments for these cancers is boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). This procedure involves selectively introducing a boron delivery agent into tumor cells and irradiating them with a neutron beam, which kills the cancer cells due to the high-linear energy transfer radiation produced by the 10B(n,α)7Li capture reaction. The theory of BNCT has been around for a long time since 1936, but has historically been limited by poor boron delivery agents and non-optimal neutron source facilities. Although significant improvements have been made in both of these domains, it is mainly the advancements of accelerator-based neutron sources that have led to the expansion of over 20 new BNCT facilities worldwide in the past decade. Additionally in this work, particle and heavy ion transport code system simulations, in collaboration with the University of Tsukuba, were performed to examine the effectiveness of the Ibaraki BNCT beam shaping assembly to moderate a neutron beam suitable for BNCT at the proposed prototype Canadian compact accelerator-based neutron source (CANS) site, which uses a similar but slightly higher energy 10 MeV proton accelerator with a 1 mA average current. The advancements of CANSs in recent decades have enabled significant improvements in BNCT technologies, allowing it to become a more viable clinical treatment option.