Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) Enhancement of Fast Neutron Radiotherapy: Application to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

摘要

Fast neutron radiotherapy utilizes neutrons in the energy range of several millions to several tens of millions of eV to treat human malignancies. These fast neutron beams produce a small cloud of "slow" neutrons as they penetrate the body. If one can selectively attach isotopes having large neutron capture cross sections (such as ~(10)B) to cancer cells, these "slow" neutrons can be used to enhance the killing of tumors. We describe a multidisciplinary effort to apply this technique to the treatment of patients with inoperable, non-small cell lung cancers. Problems in target design, compound development, beam optimization, and radiobiological experiments are discussed.