Boron-10 uptake in experimental gliomas

Patel, Hemant (1998) Boron-10 uptake in experimental gliomas. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

A new treatment modality for high grade gliomas called Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, (BNCT), is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States of America, Europe and Japan. It relies on the preferential loading of tumour cells with boron-10, prior to irradiation with neutrons. The subsequent nuclear breakdown of the boron-10 causes very cell specific damage.

Despite commencement of these trials, vital information is still required on the relationship between the tumour vasculature and the accumulation of boronated compounds. This is crucial, since the success of BNCT depends on obtaining a substantially higher concentration of boron-10 in tumour cells than in the surrounding normal tissues.

This thesis examined the hypothesis that the tumour vasculature is a major influence on the uptake of boron-10. This represents the first ever detailed study of boron-10 accumulation using the two current clinically used compounds, in a range of animal glioma models, concurrently with measuring their vascular permeability and vascularity.

The results have indicated that the pattern of vascularisation of the tumour, the degree and pattern of necrosis and the particular boron-10 compound, all contribute significantly to the final outcome of boron-10 accumulation.

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