Experimental application of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy to Undifferentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

DAGROSA M.A., VIAGGI M., LONGHINO J., CALZETTA O., CABRINI R.L., EDREIRA M., JUVENAL G.J., PISAREV M.A

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY BIOLOGY PHYSICS

Año: 2003 vol. 57 p. 1084 - 1092

0360-3016

Purpose: Undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma (UTC) lacks an effective treatment. Boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT) is based on the nuclear reaction 10B(n,) 7Li. These particles destroy the tumor locally due to their highlinear energy transfer (LET). Mice transplanted with the human cell line of UTC ARO have a selective uptakeof 10B-borophenylalanine (BPA). The complete BNCT was performed to explore its possible application.Methods and Materials: Mice were distributed into four groups: (1) no treatment; (2) neutron beam alone; (3)350 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) BPA plus irradiation; (4) 600 mg/kg b.w. BPA plus irradiation. Follow-up wasperformed by measurement of tumor volume, histologic analysis, and assessment of DNA damage using the cometassay.Results: The tumor continued to grow in Groups 1 and 2. In Group 3, a slow-down of tumor growth was observedin all mice, and a complete stop was observed in 100% of mice of Group 4. Complete disappearance of the tumorwas observed in 50% of the mice that had an initial tumor volume of less than 50 mm3 (Groups 3 and 4). DNAdamage showed a progressive increase from Group 1 through 4.Conclusion: These data show, for the first time, that UTC is amenable to treatment by BNCT. © 2003 ElsevierInc.