BORON - NEUTRON CAPTURE TERAPHY

Instituties involved in poject: The National Institute, of Public Health, Warsaw Centrum Onkologii Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń Technical University of Warsaw Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cracow Center of Microbiology and Wirology PAS, Łódź Institute of Atomic Energy, Świerk

Polish project coordinated by Institute of Atomic Energy.

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, (BNCT), is a In this method the boron compounds (enriched in (10B), are introduced into the body and selectively accumulated in cancer cells. In the next step the patient is irradiated with neutron beam; the nuclear reaction of neutrons with 10B results in the emission of alpha particles and 7Li ions. These particles, having substantial energy and short ranges destroy tumor cells. The surrounding normal tissue, containing less boron, is not seriously affected. Polish BNCT Project started in 2000.

BNCT aims: neutron beam with appropriate parameters - is now under construction in MARIA nuclear reactor. boron pharmaceuticals, to be selectively accumulated in tumor cells. In Poland two groups of boron compoumds are developed in this respect, in two scientific centres: - in Toruń, in the Department of Chemistry of Nicolaus Copernicus University - in Łódź, in Microbiology and Virology Center of Polish Academy of Science the examination of pharmaceutics – will be performed in National Institute of Public Health. The irradiation of tissue cultures with thermal neutrons will be performed in so-called BIMA probe in Maria nuclear reactor.

Current status of BNCT program: BNCT facility in Maria nuclear reactor Boron compounds in BNCT People involved in project and meeting schedule

BNCT in the world: ECN, Petten, Holand KUR, Kyoto, JAERI (Tokai-mura), Japan INEEL, Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA BNL, Brookhaven, New York, USA MIT, Boston, Massachusetts, USA HUCH, Helsinki, Finland

The Project is partially supported by State Committee for Scientific Research under the following contracts: