BNCT @ Pavia

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is an experimental form of binary radiotherapy, based on thermal neutron irradiation of the tumour previously enriched with ¹⁰B. The thermal neutron capture raction ( ¹⁰ B(n,α) ⁷Li), gives rise to two high LET particles that loose all their energy in a path of the order of a cell diameter. If a sufficient number of Boron atoms are loaded in a cell, the thermal neutron irradiation causes some irreversible damages to the DNA, inactivating the cell where the reactions take place. The tumoural cells uptake higher ¹⁰B concentrations compared to the normal tissues. Hence, the irradiation with thermal neutrons delivers a potentially therapeutic dose to the malignancy, with a substantial sparing of the healthy surrounding tissues. This selective effect is a promising novelty in the field of the cancer therapy and since it was proposed for the first time, it has been applied to the tumours with a poor response to traditional therapies such as surgery, γ radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The first tumour treated by BNCT was Glioblastoma Multiforme, using borated compounds and neutron beams extracted from nuclear reactors in USA, Japan and Europe. Nowadays, feasibility studies and clinical trials are being carried out all over the world. BNCT is applied to a number of other tumours, using neutrons in wider energy ranges and boron carriers of new generation.

BNCT is a highly multidisciplinary research field, combining the effort of: Biologists, Chemists, Engineers, Physicians and Medics. The researching group in pavia is mainly composed by physicians and biologists, relying on strong national and international collaborations (Argentina, England, Finland and USA).
Our main activities are:

• NEUTRON TRANSPORT

  We mainly develop neutro Beam Shaping Assemblies (BSA) from sources such as accelerators and nuclear reactors.

• BORON MEASUREMENTS

  Currently two boron measuring techniques are set up at the LENA laboratory of Pavia: Alpha spectrometry and neutron autoradiography. Boron concentration measurements can be performed on solid tissue sample and on liquid samples.

• IN-VIVO BNCT

  In collaboration with biology groups we perform in vivo BNCT irradiation to evaluate the performance of new boron formulations.

• SPECT - BNCT

  This is a new research topic, the aim is to develop an instrument to measure boron concentration in the patient during the BNCT treatment.