M S Herrera1, S J González, D M Minsky, A J Kreiner. 1. Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, CNEA, Av. Gral. Paz 1499, B1650KNA Buenos Aires, Argentina. herrera@tandar.cnea.gov.ar
Abstract
PURPOSE: Encouraging Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) clinical results obtained in recent years have stimulated intense research to develop accelerator-based neutron sources to be installed in clinical facilities. In this work an assessment of an accelerator-based BNCT facility for the treatment of different tumor targets was performed, comparing the accelerator-derived results with reported reactor-based trials under similar conditions and subjected to the same clinical protocols. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A set of real image studies was used to cover clinical-like cases of brain and head-and-neck tumors. In addition, two clinical cases of malignant nodular melanoma treated at the RA-6 BNCT facility in Argentina were used to thoroughly compare the clinical dosimetry with the accelerator-derived results. RESULTS: The minimum weighted dose delivered to the clinical target volume was higher than 30 Gy and 14 Gy for the brain tumor and head-and-neck cases, respectively, in agreement with those achieved in clinical applications. For the melanoma cases, the minimum tumor doses were equal or higher than those achieved with the RA-6 reactor for identical field orientation and protocol. The whole-body dose assessment showed that the maximum photon-equivalent doses for those normal organs close to the beam direction were below the upper limits considered in the protocols used in the present work. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results indicate not only the good performance of the proposed beam shaping assembly design associated to the facility but also the potential applicability of accelerator-based BNCT in the treatment of both superficial and deep-seated tumors.
PURPOSE: Encouraging Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) clinical results obtained in recent years have stimulated intense research to develop accelerator-based neutron sources to be installed in clinical facilities. In this work an assessment of an accelerator-based BNCT facility for the treatment of different tumor targets was performed, comparing the accelerator-derived results with reported reactor-based trials under similar conditions and subjected to the same clinical protocols. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A set of real image studies was used to cover clinical-like cases of brain and head-and-neck tumors. In addition, two clinical cases of malignant nodular melanoma treated at the RA-6 BNCT facility in Argentina were used to thoroughly compare the clinical dosimetry with the accelerator-derived results. RESULTS: The minimum weighted dose delivered to the clinical target volume was higher than 30 Gy and 14 Gy for the brain tumor and head-and-neck cases, respectively, in agreement with those achieved in clinical applications. For the melanoma cases, the minimum tumor doses were equal or higher than those achieved with the RA-6 reactor for identical field orientation and protocol. The whole-body dose assessment showed that the maximum photon-equivalent doses for those normal organs close to the beam direction were below the upper limits considered in the protocols used in the present work. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results indicate not only the good performance of the proposed beam shaping assembly design associated to the facility but also the potential applicability of accelerator-based BNCT in the treatment of both superficial and deep-seated tumors.
Authors: Andres Juan Kreiner; Javier Bergueiro; Daniel Cartelli; Matias Baldo; Walter Castell; Javier Gomez Asoia; Javier Padulo; Juan Carlos Suárez Sandín; Marcelo Igarzabal; Julian Erhardt; Daniel Mercuri; Alejandro A Valda; Daniel M Minsky; Mario E Debray; Hector R Somacal; María Eugenia Capoulat; María S Herrera; Mariela F Del Grosso; Leonardo Gagetti; Manuel Suarez Anzorena; Nicolas Canepa; Nicolas Real; Marcelo Gun; Hernán Tacca Journal: Rep Pract Oncol Radiother Date: 2014-12-12