TY - JOUR
T1 - A novel approach to design and evaluate BNCT neutron beams combining physical, radiobiological, and dosimetric figures of merit
AU - Postuma, Ian
AU - González, Sara
AU - Herrera, Maria S.
AU - Provenzano, Lucas
AU - Ferrarini, Michele
AU - Magni, Chiara
AU - Protti, Nicoletta
AU - Fatemi, Setareh
AU - Vercesi, Valerio
AU - Battistoni, Giuseppe
AU - Tamburini, Umberto Anselmi
AU - Liu, Yuan Hao
AU - Kankaanranta, Leena
AU - Koivunoro, Hanna
AU - Altieri, Saverio
AU - Bortolussi, Silva
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This work has been funded by INFN (project BEAT_PRO), and by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the 2016–2018 scheme of the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement between Italy and China (project NEU_BEAT, PGR 00710).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors.
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - (1) Background:The quality of neutron beams for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is currently defined by its physical characteristics in air. Recommendations exist to define whether a designed beam is useful for clinical treatment. This work presents a new way to evaluate neutron beams based on their clinical performance and on their safety, employing radiobiological quantities. (2) Methods: The case study is a neutron beam for deep-seated tumors from a 5 MeV proton beam coupled to a beryllium target. Physical Figures of Merit were used to design five beams; however, they did not allow a clear ranking of their quality in terms of therapeutic potential. The latter was then evaluated based on in-phantom dose distributions and on the calculation of the Uncomplicated Tumor Control Probability (UTCP). The safety of the beams was also evaluated calculating the inpatient out-of-beam dosimetry. (3) Results: All the beams ensured a UTCP comparable to the one of a clinical beam in phantom; the safety criterion allowed to choose the best candidate. When this was tested in the treatment planning of a real patient treated in Finland, the UTCP was still comparable to the one of the clinical beam. (4) Conclusions: Even when standard physical recommendations are not met, radiobiological and dosimetric criteria demonstrate to be a valid tool to select an effective and safe beam for patient treatment.
AB - (1) Background:The quality of neutron beams for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is currently defined by its physical characteristics in air. Recommendations exist to define whether a designed beam is useful for clinical treatment. This work presents a new way to evaluate neutron beams based on their clinical performance and on their safety, employing radiobiological quantities. (2) Methods: The case study is a neutron beam for deep-seated tumors from a 5 MeV proton beam coupled to a beryllium target. Physical Figures of Merit were used to design five beams; however, they did not allow a clear ranking of their quality in terms of therapeutic potential. The latter was then evaluated based on in-phantom dose distributions and on the calculation of the Uncomplicated Tumor Control Probability (UTCP). The safety of the beams was also evaluated calculating the inpatient out-of-beam dosimetry. (3) Results: All the beams ensured a UTCP comparable to the one of a clinical beam in phantom; the safety criterion allowed to choose the best candidate. When this was tested in the treatment planning of a real patient treated in Finland, the UTCP was still comparable to the one of the clinical beam. (4) Conclusions: Even when standard physical recommendations are not met, radiobiological and dosimetric criteria demonstrate to be a valid tool to select an effective and safe beam for patient treatment.
KW - BNCT
KW - BSA
KW - Epithermal neutron beam
KW - Out-of-beam dosimetry
KW - Radiobiological figure of merit
KW - UTCP
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U2 - 10.3390/biology10030174
DO - 10.3390/biology10030174
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85115371268
VL - 10
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Biology
JF - Biology
SN - 2079-7737
IS - 3
M1 - 174
ER -