Abstract
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) had a big subject into which high-concentration boron must be made to take in the cancer cell. If there is such an effective boron compound, a nuclear reaction occurs with epithermal neutrons, and it can become an effective cure. It turned out that boronophenylalanine (BPA) carries out high concentration accumulation in cancer cells. Then, since accumulation of boron can be evaluated in a living body by PET with quantitative nature, fluoroboronophenylalanine (FBPA) was a candidate and resembled BPA as a PET tracer. As a result, the active region and boron concentration of a tumor can be evaluated and it is recognized by medical treatment as an indispensable method on BNCT treatment. To avoid over-irradiation, it should be more prudent possible also by BNCT to come to utilize PET and to treat safely.
It became clear for adaptation expansion of clinical use on BNCT in the head and neck, lungs, etc. by FBPA-PET study. There is especially much air fraction in lungs and a neutron is in advantageous environment in adaptation of BNCT. Moreover, exact boron concentration can be predicted now also by the special medication, such as arterial injection methods. At multiple metastatic lung cancer in the limited area, if an exposure field is made large, it will be thought possible to treat simultaneously. Then, accelerator-based BNCT is also positively taken up by research projects in recent years, and has shown reality. If a practical use stage is reached, it is expected that it will contribute to the medical treatment of cancer greatly.
