Improvement of dose distribution by central beam shielding in boron neutron capture therapy

Since boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) with epithermal neutron beams started at the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) in June 2002, nearly 200 BNCT treatments have been carried out. The epithermal neutron irradiation significantly improves the dose distribution, compared with the previous irradiation mainly using thermal neutrons. However, the treatable depth limit still remains. One effective technique to improve the limit is the central shield method. Simulations were performed for the incident neutron energies and the annular components of the neutron source. It was clear that thermal neutron flux distribution could be improved by decreasing the lower energy neutron component and the inner annular component of the incident beam. It was found that a central shield of 4-6 cm diameter and 10 mm thickness is effective for the 12 cm diameter irradiation field. In BNCT at KUR, the depth dose distribution can be much improved by the central shield method, resulting in a relative increase of the dose at 8 cm depth by about 30%. In addition to the depth dose distribution, the depth dose profile is also improved. As the dose rate in the central area is reduced by the additional shielding, the necessary irradiation time, however, increases by about 30% compared to normal treatment.