Dose calculation of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy with Monte Carlo simulations

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is binary radiation treatment modality. It treats tumor cell using ¹⁰B compound and neutron beam. The ¹⁰B nuclei which have high neutron capture cross-section, release α particle and ⁷Li ion in ¹⁰B(n, α)⁷Li reaction. These products have high linear energy transfer characteristics and their ranges are around single cell diameter (~10 μm). Therefore, BNCT can selectively treat the tumor cell by the targeted boron drug delivery. In the South Korea, accelerator-based BNCT (A-BNCT) facility is under construction aiming to make epithermal neutron source. A-BNCT has advantages over reactor based BNCT, i.e. comfortable accessibility, cheap maintenance costs, simple operation and neutron beam characteristics. The primary object of this study was to calculate the dose of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy. We used Monte Carlo simulations with DICOM CT images. The calculated dose components of A-BNCT from this study is the first step of getting better therapeutic effects. These data could be used for not only in the treatment planning system but also in the clinical research area in the near future.