Clinical trial design of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy on breast cancer using D-D coaxial compact neutron generator as neutron source and Monte Carlo N-Particle simulation method

Abstract

A clinical trial simulation of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) for breast cancer was conducted at National Nuclear Energy Agency Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This was motivated by high rate of breast cancer in the world, especially in Indonesia. BNCT is a type of therapy by nuclear reaction 10 B(n,α) 7 Li that produces kinetic energy totaling 2.79 MeV. High Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiation of α-particle and recoil 7 Li would locally deposit their energy in a range of 5-9 μm, which corresponds to the human cell diameter. Fast neutron coming out of Compact Neutron Generator (CNG) was moderated using Fe and MgF 2 material. A collimator, along with breast cancer and the corresponding organ at risk were designed compatible to Monte Carlo N-Particle X (MCNPX). The radiation were simulated by the MCNPX software and the physical quantities were counted by tally MCNPX codes. The highest neutron thermal flux was found at a depth of 1.4 cm on fat tissue. En face and upward intersection radiation techniques were adopted for the breast cancer radiation. The average dose rate of radiation used on breast cancer was 1.72×10 -5 Gy/s for the en face method and 8.98×10 -6 Gy/s for the upward intersection method. Dose 50±3 Gy was given into cancer cell, (4.18±0.06) ×10 -2 Gy into heart and (8.16±0.06) ×10 -2 Gy into lung for 806.34 hours irradiation.