Title:Boronated Compounds for Imaging Guided BNCT Applications
Volume: 12
Issue: 5
Author(s): Simonetta Geninatti-Crich, Annamaria Deagostino, Antonio Toppino, Diego Alberti, Paolo Venturello and Silvio Aime
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Biodistribution, BNCT, 10B NMR, Imaging, 11B NMR, BPA, BSH, Carboranes, 19F NMR, 1H-MRI, 1H-MRS, PET, SPECT,
Therapy, Tumors
Abstract: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the capture of thermal neutrons by boron 10 (10B) nuclei that have been
selectively delivered to tumor cells. The amount of 10-30 μg of boron for g of tumor mass is needed to attain an acceptable therapeutic
advantage. Despite that the potentialities of BNCT have been demonstrated in several preclinical studies, this technique has not yet been
fully accepted in the armory of tools for tumor treatment. This is partly due to the differences in the uptake and distribution of 10B among
patients and also to the uncertainty found in the determination of tumor-to-blood 10B concentration ratio. Attention is now being payed to
use the main imaging techniques to determine the in vivo biodistribution of BNCT agents. Most of the work has been devoted to the most
promising BNCT agents, namely BPA, BSH and carborane derivatives. This review surveys studies carried out over the last decade, and
outlines the role that NMR, PET and SPECT imaging may have to improve the efficacy of BNCT.
