Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT): the lesser known hadrontherapy
Nicoletta Protti, University of Pavia, Department of Physics and National Institute of Nuclear Physics INFN, Pavia Unit, Italy
Monday 11th November 2024, 12.00 PM
ICMAB - Sala d'Actes Carles Miravitlles
Abstract
Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) is a cell level selective hadrontherapy based on neutron capture reactions induced by low energy neutrons in certain isotopes, the most studied and exploited being the stable isotopes 10B and 157Gd. The secondary radiations produced by these reactions includes charged particles with high Linear Energy Transfer (LET), i.e. a very high biological potential of damaging cancer cells over short ranges which are comparable with mean cell diameters.
Despite the basic physical principles of NCT has been identified in 1936, the therapy needed almost one century to reach the maturity in its different technological branches to enter the hospital departments of radiotherapy and hadrontherapy.
The seminar will offer an overview of NCT principles, challenges and clinical trials, with a special emphasis on the projects on-going at Pavia, Italy.
Short bio
Nicoletta Protti, PhD in Physics, is Associate Professor at Pavia University, Physics Department, since April 2022.
N.P. holds laboratory courses on ionizing radiation and their use in medicine for the Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Physics. She also holds the BNCT module for the course “Physics of Innovative Oncological Therapies” for the Master’s degree in Biomedical Physics, Pavia University.
N.P.’s research activity is devoted to NCT since her graduation and PhD in Applied Physics and it embraces different topics relevant for the effective development and application of the therapy, such as: 10B quantification and visualization at cellular level, preclinical studies (both in cell cultures and small animals) of innovative NCT vectors for classical as well as non standard tumour targets, development of innovative sensors for real time 10B dose verification, optimization and characterization of neutron beams at reactor-based and more recently at accelerator-based neutron facilities.
The projects presently involving more N.P. are: the NECTAR project, a H2020 FET-Open RIA project funded by the European Commission, focused on the adaptation and exploitation of NCT principles to treat Alzheimer’s disease and the BNCT@CNAO project devoted to the installation, characterization and commissioning of an accelerator-based BNCT-dedicated neutron source at the Italian National Center of Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) in Pavia.
