A dosimetric study on the use of bolus materials for treatment of superficial tumors with BNCT

Tiina Seppälä, Juhani Collan, Iiro Auterinen, Tom Serén, Eero Salli, Petri Kotiluoto, Mika Kortesniemi, Koen Van Leemput, Leena Kankaanranta, Heikki Joensuu, Sauli Savolainen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    For treatment of superficially located tumors, such as head and neck cancers that invade the skin, the tumor dose may remain low on the skin when such tumors are treated with epithermal neutrons in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The goal of this study was to examine the effects of bolus material for BNCT of superficial tumors, to verify the calculated 55Mn(n,γ) and the 197Au(n,γ) activation reaction rates and the neutron and the gamma doses in a phantom irradiated with a bolus, to measure the neutron activation of the bolus materials after irradiation, and according to depth dose distribution, to estimate when it is advantageous to use a bolus in BNCT. The present data show that both paraffin and water gel can be used as a bolus material for BNCT. However, we recommend paraffin for clinical use, since it is durable and can be easily shaped. A 5mm paraffin bolus increases the surface dose approximately 50%, and its use may be advantageous for treatment of superficial tumors where the planning target volume (PTV) reaches to 6cm or less in tissue depth.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)787-791
    Number of pages5
    JournalApplied Radiation and Isotopes
    Volume61
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2004
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • BNCT
    • Bolus
    • Dosimetry
    • Epithermal neutrons
    • Paraffin
    • Water gel

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