Neutron capture therapy seizing poor prognosis cancer

Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) is a technique devised for the treatment of traditionally uncontrollable malignancies. NCT essentially combines two components; targeting the tumour cells with a stable boron-10 compound, and, bombarding the targeted volume with a beam of neutrons. The boron atoms absorb, or 'capture' the neutrons, emitting short range (approximately one cell diameter), highly ionising radiation. The result is specific tumour cell killing amongst the normal tissue. The details on each component vary depending on the tumour site. This paper aims to provide a background into NCT, the history of its development, the technique, and, present some discussion on clinical trials being conducted with prospects for NCT in Australia. 15 refs., 5 figs