BNCT (boron neutron capture therapy)

For a detailed description of BNCT therapy we suggest you to visit our links. They will be more exhaustive than we could be. We outline here only some important basic informations:

BNCT is a therapy used against tumoral brain affections and against melanomas.

GBM (GlioBlastoma Multiforme) is the principal target of this therapy. It is the highest malignant grade brain tumor.

Important results have been reached in the last years. The mortal course of GBM is been retarded and in same cases defeated ( see for example Hatanaka et al. article in references , that reports of more than 15 years at-today patientes survival).

We want to point out again the fact that it was achieved clinically checked regression and disappearance too of tumor in a pathology that had a few-months letal course.

BNCT is actually implemented in only few medical centers in the world, and only two of this centers have a long-time experience in clinical application: Kyoto university (expecially for melanomas) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (expecially GBM). See links.

BNCT is a so-called androtherapy (therapy with andrones). It make use of neutronic capture by boron 10 nucleus present in some veicle molecules as BPA or BSH molecule and of the subsequent high energy particles emission to destroy tumor cells.

It can be said a non-invasive therapy. This is because of its high selectivity (tumor/normal-brain uptake ratio of veicle molecules like BSH). Clinical evidence of this non-invasivity exists.

"I believe that new approaches in biology will give the solution to cancer problem in a near future. I think they will be very important the studies about apoptosis mechanisms and about stam cells. I see a promise in this fields of application. In this way I hope for the next future, but at this moment BNCT is a reality, and it can be thinked as the present of the medical fight against the above-mentioned kinds of tumoral pathologies."

Fabrizio Fasano