Translational boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) studies for the treatment of tumors in lung

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) combines selective accumulation of ¹⁰B carriers in tumor tissue with subsequent neutron irradiation. BNCT has been proposed for the treatment of multiple, non-resectable, diffuse tumors in lung. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of BNCT in an experimental model of lung metastases of colon carcinoma in BDIX rats and perform complementary survival studies.

We evaluated tumor control and toxicity in lung 2 weeks post-BNCT at 2 dose levels, including 5 experimental groups per dose level: T0 (euthanized pre-treatment), Boronophenylalanine-BNCT (BPA-BNCT), BPA + Sodium decahydrodecaborate-BNCT ((BPA + GB-10)-BNCT), Beam only (BO) and Sham (no treatment, same manipulation). Tumor response was assessed employing macroscopic and microscopic end-points. An additional experiment was performed to evaluate survival and oxygen saturation in blood.

No dose-limiting signs of short/medium-term toxicity were observed in lung. All end-points revealed statistically significant BNCT-induced tumor control vs Sham at both dose levels. The survival experiment showed a statistically significant 45% increase in post-treatment survival time in the BNCT group (48 days) versus Sham (33 days). These data consistently revealed growth suppression of lung metastases by BNCT with no manifest lung toxicity. Highlights Boron Neutron Capture Therapy suppresses growth of experimental lung metastases No BNCT-induced short/medium-term toxicity in lung is associated with tumor control Boron Neutron Capture Therapy increased post-treatment survival time by 45.