(Virtual Meeting) Technical Meeting on Advances in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

Accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has become available for hospitals and there is a rapidly growing interest from the medical community in using it as innovative modality in oncology. Through biological targeting, BNCT offers an approach to overcoming radiation resistance in some types of cancer, as well as a potential cure for locally recurrent solid tumors after maximal conventional therapies. Clinical experience collected in several hundred patients, especially in Finland and Japan, has generated a multitude of activities for hospital-based BNCT centres. In Japan, there are already three facilities treating patients; in Finland, a facility is being commissioned in Helsinki. Scientific societies have been founded on an international and national (Finland, Germany and Japan) level and accelerator-based high intensity epithermal neutron sources have become available. However, the standardization needed for the further development of this modality is lacking. Practical experience of how to plan, execute and hand over an operating BNCT facility, especially to an institution or in a country that has never operated one before, has not yet been gathered together in one place.

Objectives

The purpose of the event is to assess the current status of the boron neutron capture therapy technique with emphasis on usage of compact accelerator based intense neutron sources. The event also aims to contribute to the update of IAEA-TECDOC-1223.

Target Audience

The event is aimed at staff from hospitals interested in establishing such a facility; specialists in the process of planning or executing such a project; medical and other scientists performing research and patient treatments for and with BNCT; companies designing and marketing accelerators and beam delivery systems; national standards laboratories in charge of neutron metrology; and regulators.

Working Language(s)

English.

Expected Outputs

The expected output of the event will be a report that covers the developments in the field that have taken place since the publication of Current Status of Neutron Capture Therapy (IAEA-TECDOC-1223), in 2001. The report will give a high-level overview of the standards that need to be developed, as well as the processes and considerations required during project development, execution and handover to operations.

Structure

The event will be organized around the topics listed below. The agenda will be structured to have a balance of talks, poster presentations and discussion time sufficient to facilitate reaching conclusions, and will end with summary talks on each of the topics. In preparation for the event, it is expected that speakers will target their work and their presentations at addressing the event’s aims.

Topics

The event will cover topics that form the conceptual table of contents for the final report:

• Prerequisites for neutron beam parameters;
• Neutron sources for BNCT treatment facilities;
• Beam design considerations;
• Irradiation (patient treatment) facility design;
• Physical dosimetry of BNCT: determination of beam parameters;
• Organization, operation and management of a BNCT treatment facility;
• Boron compounds;
• Radiobiology;
• Boron concentration determination and imaging;
• Prescribing and treatment planning for BNCT;
• Dose reporting in BNCT;
• Clinical trial design and procedures for BNCT; and
• Regulatory aspects.