Voxel model in BNCT treatment planning: performance analysis and improvements.

In recent years, many efforts have been made to study the performance of treatment planning systems in deriving an accurate dosimetry of the complex radiation fields involved in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The computational model of the patient's anatomy is one of the main factors involved in this subject. This work presents a detailed analysis of the performance of the 1 cm based voxel reconstruction approach.

The microdosimetry of the (10)B reaction in boron neutron capture therapy: a new generalized theory.

The microdosimetry of (10)B thermal neutron capture reactions should be considered as an essential step to be followed before studying the radiobiological aspects of boron neutron capture therapy. The boron dose itself is insufficient as the only quantity used to describe the biological effectiveness of the (10)B reaction for two important reasons: the specific microdistribution that the (10)B carrier compound exhibits at the cellular level and the primarily stochastic nature of the energy deposition process, which influences the biological response to the particulate radiation. In this work, these two aspects are analyzed in detail and an innovative rigorous analytical framework is developed in the microdosimetry domain.

Moderated 252Cf neutron energy spectra in brain tissue and calculated boron neutron capture dose.

While there is significant clinical experience using both low- and high-dose (252)Cf brachytherapy, combination therapy using (10)B for neutron capture therapy-enhanced (252)Cf brachytherapy has not been performed. Monte Carlo calculations were performed in a brain phantom (ICRU 44 brain tissue) to evaluate the dose enhancement predicted for a range of (10)B concentrations over a range of distances from a clinical (252)Cf source. These results were compared to experimental measurements and calculations published in the literature.

A critical examination of the results from the Harvard-MIT NCT program phase I clinical trial of neutron capture therapy for intracranial disease.

A phase I trial was designed to evaluate normal tissue tolerance to neutron capture therapy (NCT); tumor response was also followed as a secondary endpoint. Between July 1996 and May 1999, 24 subjects were entered into a phase I trial evaluating cranial NCT in subjects with primary or metastatic brain tumors. Two subjects were excluded due to a decline in their performance status and 22 subjects were irradiated at the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory.

Treatment planning and dosimetry for the Harvard-MIT Phase I clinical trial of cranial neutron capture therapy.

Purpose: A Phase I trial of cranial neutron capture therapy (NCT) was conducted at Harvard-MIT. The trial was designed to determine maximum tolerated NCT radiation dose to normal brain.

Methods And Materials: Twenty-two patients with brain tumors were treated by infusion of boronophenylalanine-fructose (BPA-f) followed by exposure to epithermal neutrons.