NEUTRON-CAPTURE THERAPY OF OCULAR MELANOMA AND MICRODOSIMETRY APPROACHES

Neutron capture therapy (NCT) aims at destroying cancerous cells with the ct and Li-7 particles produced by the neutron capture reaction on B-10. This note reports on the study of the boron distribution in tissues on an animal model (nude mice) xenografted with a human ocular melanoma after an i.p. injection of 2g/kg of B-10-BPA and in cells cultured in the presence of 530 mu mol/l of B-10-BPA. A concentration of 64 ppm of B-10 in the active Part of the tumour with a ratio of concentrations versus the skin of 3.7 are observed. Investigations on cells reveal the presence of boron in the cytoplasm. The biological, dosimetric and microdosimetric consequences of these findings are discussed.