硼中子俘获疗法进展及治疗脉络膜黑色素瘤展望

本文介绍利用选择性聚集在肿瘤细胞中的硼原子俘获中子核反应生成α粒子和锂核,杀死癌细胞治疗恶性肿瘤的硼中子俘获疗法(boron neutron capture therapy,BNCT)的进展情况.BNCT是一种治疗恶性肿瘤的有效疗法,目前主要用于原发性或复发性恶性颅脑肿瘤的治疗,但对其他恶性肿瘤的临床治疗也在不断探索中,特别是在皮肤黑色素瘤的治疗上取得了长足的进展.葡萄膜黑色素瘤是最常见的成年人眼内恶性肿瘤,随着高效硼载体的发展,对葡萄膜黑色素瘤的相关实验研究也在进行中,有望今后拓展应用于葡萄膜黑色素瘤的临床治疗中.

Progress in boron neutron capture therapy and prospects for the treatment of choroidal melanoma

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a biochemically targeted radiotherapy based on the nuclear capture and fission reactions that occur when non-radioactive boron-10,which is a constituent of natural elemental boron,is irradiated with low energy thermal neutrons to yield high linear energy transfer alpha particles and recoiling lithium-7 nuclei.Clinical interest in BNCT has focused primarily on the treatment of high grade gliomas,recurrent cancers of the head and neck region and either primary or metastatic melanoma.New boron delivery agents that currently are under evaluation,neutron sources in use or under development for BNCT,clinical dosimetry,treatment planning,and finally a summary of previous and on-going clinical studies for high grade gliomas,recurrent tumors of the head and neck region and cutaneous melanomas.Promising results have been obtained with both groups of patients but these outcomes must be more rigorously evaluated in larger,possibly randomized clinical trials.Moreover,we can look at the BNCT as a useful tool in the therapy of uveal melanoma.