2017/01/25 by Lorenzo Manti, Cirrone, GAP, D. Margarone +22
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Boron Compounds in Chemistry #FOS: Physical sciences #Medical Physics (physics.med-ph) #Nuclear Physics and Applications #Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1701.07504
openalex publication_date 2017/01/25 · openalex created_date 2017/02/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Protontherapy is hadrontherapy fastest-growing modality and a pillar in the battle against cancer. Hadrontherapy superiority lies in its inverted depth-dose profile, hence tumour-confined irradiation. Protons, however, lack distinct radiobiological advantages over photons or electrons. Higher LET (Linear Energy Transfer) 12C ions can overcome cancer radioresistance: DNA lesion complexity increases with LET, resulting in efficient cell killing, i.e. higher Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE). However, economic and radiobiological issues hamper 12C-ion clinical amenability. Thus, enhancing proton RBE is desirable. To this end, we exploited the p + 11B →3α reaction to generate high-LET alpha particles with a clinical proton beam. To maximize the reaction rate, we used sodium borocaptate (BSH) with natural boron content. Boron-Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) uses 10B-enriched BSH for neutron irradiation-triggered alpha-particles. We recorded significantly increased cellular lethality and chromosome aberration complexity. A strategy combining protontherapy ballistic precision with the higher RBE promised by BNCT and 12C-ion therapy is thus demonstrated.