Studies to use fission neutrons in BNCT for deeper tumor lesion

When applying the selectivity of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) in the treatment of the tumors, the rapid attenuation of thermal neutrons in tissue presents serious limitations. The authors basic idea was to irradiate a tumor in an acrylic block (30x30x30cm3) with fission neutrons and, in adjunct to the therapeutic effects of fast neutrons, to take advantage of thermalization of fast and epithermal neutrons within the acrylate or tissues for the BNCT of a deep neoplastic lesion. The possibility of using fission neutrons for BNCT was studied by comparing the effects of the 10B(n,α)7Li reaction and fast neutrons with the effects of γ-rays (137Cs) on the colony forming ability of irradiated V-79 Chinese hamster cells. The depth to which the irradiated tumor might receive a higher dose than normal tissue was calculated