Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy（BNCT） has been attracting growing interest as one of the minimally invasive cancer therapies. BNCT uses the nuclear reaction between low-energy thermal neutron（0.025eV） and boron-10（10B）, and the generated α-particle and lithium nuclei are high linear energy transfer particles（2.4MeV） that are sufficiently powerful to kill cells. Therefore, selective delivery of 10B atoms to tumor is essential for effective BNCT. Mercaptoundecahydrododecaborate（Na2［B12H11SH］） and p-boronophenylalanine（BPA） have been used in BNCT for many years. BPA, in particular, has been widely used for the treatment of not only melanoma but also brain tumor and head and neck cancer. In Japan, which succeeded in developing a small accelerator for BNCT ahead of the world, the phase II clinical study of BPA-BNCT for brain tumor and head and neck cancer patients has been completed and their applications for medical approval have been filed. However, development of new boron carriers is still strong requirements for patients who are not able to be treated with BPA. In this review, recent development of DDS-based new boron carriers is summarized.
