Measurement of tumor blood flow following neutron irradiation

Clinical oncologists and cancer researchers benefit from information on the vascularization or non-vascularization of solid tumors because of blood flow's influence on three popular treatment types: hyperthermia therapy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The objective of this research is the development of a clinically useful tumor blood flow measurements technique. The designed technique is sensitive, has good spatial resolution, in non-invasive and presents no risk to the patient beyond his usual treatment. Tumor blood flow was determined by measuring the washout of positron emitting isotopes created through neutron therapy treatment. In order to do this, several technical and scientific questions were addressed first. These questions have been answered through both theoretical calculation and measurement. The first question was answered through the measurement of macroscopic cross sections for the predominant nuclear reactions in the body. These results correlate well with an independent mathematical prediction of tissue activation and measurements of mouse spleen neutron activation. The second question was addressed by performing cell suspension and protein precipitation techniques on neutron activated mouse spleens. The third and final question was answered by using first physical principles to develop a model mimicking the blood flow system and measurement technique. In a final set of experiments, the above were applied to flow models and animals. The ultimate aim of this project is to apply its methodology to neutron therapy patients