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Boron neutron capture therapy Definition from Medicine Dictionaries & Glossaries
A type of radiation therapy. The person is given an intravenous infusion containing the element boron, which concentrates in the tumor cells. The person then receives radiation therapy with atomic particles called neutrons from a small research nuclear reactor. The radiation is absorbed by the boron, killing the tumor cells without harming normal cells.
A Service of the National Cancer Institute.Boron neutron capture therapy Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) is a noninvasive therapeutic modality for treating locally invasive malignant tumors such as primary brain tumors and recurrent head and neck cancer. It is a two step procedure: first, the patient is injected with a tumor localizing drug containing a non-radioactive isotope that has a high propensity or cross section (s) to capture neutrons. This cross section is many times greater than that of the other elements present in tissues such as hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. In the second step, the patient is exposed to epithermal neutrons, which after slowing down in the tissue, induce in the NCT agent a localized, biologically destructive nuclear reaction (Fig.1).
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