Accelerator-based Neutron Brachytherapy

提出了一种基于快速神经元近距离放射治疗的头颈部肿瘤的新治疗方法，该方法通过中子捕获硼进行中子剂量增加或不增加。使用近距离放射治疗方法而不是外部射束照射将允许中子的腔内递送，从而大大改善肿瘤与健康组织的剂量比。显著的健康组织保留应允许递送比使用外部射束递送的肿瘤剂量更大的肿瘤剂量，并且更大的肿瘤剂量将反过来导致改善的局部控制。与许多癌症类型患者死于远处转移的情况不同，头颈部肿瘤患者往往死于局部和区域受累。因此，改善局部控制预期可改善患者存活率。基于加速器的中子近距离放射治疗将涉及将长而窄的加速器管插入患者腔或肿瘤中，该加速器管在尖端处具有产生中子的靶。在第一阶段，将开发人体头颈部中子输运的计算模型，并用于确定头颈部肿瘤辐照的最有效中子源参数。相对于外射束快中子治疗，将评价快中子近距离治疗的剂量特性，并将量化硼中子捕获提供的潜在肿瘤剂量增强。最后，一个临床上有用的加速器为基础的中子近距离治疗源的工程要求将被确定。拟议的商业应用：如果中子近距离放射治疗被发现为头颈部肿瘤的治疗提供了显着的优势，那么近距离放射治疗系统将存在市场。头颈部癌症占美国所有癌症的5-6%，在发展中国家癌症发病率高达50%。中子近距离放射治疗也可能被证明在治疗其他常见癌症（如前列腺癌）中有用。基于加速器的近距离放射治疗系统可以做得足够紧凑，以便在主要的医疗中心安装和操作。

The development of a novel treatment of head and neck tumors based on fast neuron brachytherapy, with or without dose augmentation by neutron by neutron capture in boron, it is proposed. Use of brachytherapy approach rather than external beam irradiation will allow intracavity delivery of neutrons leading to vastly improved tumor to healthy tissue dose ratios. Significant healthy tissue sparing should allow the delivery of larger tumor doses than those delivered using external beams, and larger tumor doses would, in turn, lead to improved local control. Unlike the case with many cancer types in which patients die of distant metastases, patients with head and neck tumors tend to die of local and regional involvement. Thus, improving local control is expected to lead to improved patient survival. Accelerator-based neutron brachytherapy would involve the insertion into a patient cavity or tumor of a long, narrow accelerator tube having a neutron-producing target at the tip. In Phase I, a computational model of neutron transport in the human head and neck will be developed and used to determine the most effective neutron source parameters for irradiation of head and neck tumors. The dose characteristics of fast neutron brachytherapy will be evaluated relative to external beam fast neutron therapy, and the potential tumor dose enhancement provided by boron neutron capture will be quantified. Finally, the engineering requirements for a clinically useful accelerator-based neutron brachytherapy source will be determine. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: If neutron brachytherapy is found to provide significant advantages for the treatment of head and neck tumors, then a market will exist for brachytherapy systems. Head and neck cancers account for 5-6% of all cancers in the U.S., and as high as 50% of cancers in developing countries. Neutron brachytherapy may also prove useful in the treatment of other prevalent cancers, such as prostate cancer. An accelerator-based brachytherapy system could be made compact enough to be installed and operated at major medical centers.