Construction of a BNCT Facility using an 8-MeV High Power Proton Linac in Tokai

Abstract

An accelerator-based BNCT (Boron Neutron Capture Therapy) facility is now under construction and the entire system including the patient treatment system will be installed in the Ibaraki Neutron Advanced Medical Research Center (tentative name). BNCT is expected to give good results for inoperable cancers. In BNCT, pharmaceuticals carry a neutron capture agent containing {sup 10}B (Boron 10) selectively into tumor cells. Next thermal or epi-thermal neutrons interact with the {sup 10}B and produce α and {sup 7}Li-particles. Both of these particles have a very high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) and therefore lose almost all of their energy within a distance comparable to the size of a tumor cell. So far, BNCT has been provided only by nuclear reactors. The promising results shown there by BNCT give the hope that it may become an indispensable treatment modality for many types of cancers. From solely the neutron intensity point of view, nuclear reactors are excellent neutron sources. But as nuclear reactors regularly require long maintenance shut-downs and are subject to strict regulations, hospital operation is completely impractical. Thus we recognize the desirability of an accelerator-based BNCT facility well adapted for use by hospitals. We are aiming at the design and construction of a 'Hospital and Patient friendly' BNCT system. The development of such a BNCT requires multi-disciplinary input and collaboration from a wide spectrum of scientific and technical specialties. To obtain the needed breath and strength, we have organized our team with contributing specialists from diverse institutes and companies. The Ibaraki Medical Center for Advanced Neutron Therapy will be on the IQBRC (Ibaraki Quantum Beam Research Center) campus, which is near the JAEA and KEK Tokai campuses. The building for the BNCT is now under renovation by the Ibaraki prefectural government. We are tentatively calling this project 'I-BNCT' because of the Ibaraki prefectural sponsorship. Investigation of an 8-MeV proton linac and of a beryllium-based neutron production target for the BNCT is progressing. (author)