Therapeutic potential of atmospheric neutrons.

Background: Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumour in humans. It has a very poor prognosis despite multi-modality treatments consisting of open craniotomy with surgical resection, followed by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Recently, a new treatment has been proposed - Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) - which exploits the interaction between Boron-10 atoms (introduced by vector molecules) and low energy neutrons produced by giant accelerators or nuclear reactors.