Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a binary radiotherapy based on thermal‐neutron irradiation of cells enriched with 10B, which produces α particles and 7Li ions of short range and high biological effectiveness. The selective uptake of boron by tumor cells is a crucial issue for BNCT, and studies of boron uptake and washout associated with cell survival studies can be of great help in developing clinical applications. In this work, boron uptake and washout were characterized both in vitro for the DHDK12TRb (DHD) rat colon carcinoma cell line and in vivo using rats bearing liver metastases from DHD cells. Despite a remarkable uptake, a large boron release was observed after removal of the boron‐enriched medium from in vitro cell cultures. However, analysis of boron washout after rat liver perfusion in vivo did not show a significant boron release, suggesting that organ perfusion does not limit the therapeutic effectiveness of the treatment. The survival of boron‐loaded cells exposed to thermal neutrons was also assessed; the results indicated that the removal of extracellular boron does not limit treatment effectiveness if adequate amounts of boron are delivered and if the cells are kept at low temperature. Cell survival was also investigated theoretically using a mechanistic model/Monte Carlo code originally developed for radiation‐induced chromosome aberrations and extended here to cell death; good agreement between simulation outcomes and experimental data was obtained.
Skip Nav Destination
Close
Article navigation
1 April 2011
Research Article|
December 06 2010
In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: Boron Uptake/Washout and Cell Death
C Ferrari
;
C Ferrari
a University of Pavia, Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
J Bakeine
;
J Bakeine
b University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
F Ballarini
;
F Ballarini
1
b University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, Pavia, Italy
c National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
1 Address for correspondence: University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, via Bassi 6, I‐27100 Pavia, Italy; e-mail: francesca.ballarini@pv.infn.it.
Search for other works by this author on:
A Boninella
;
A Boninella
a University of Pavia, Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
S Bortolussi
;
S Bortolussi
b University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, Pavia, Italy
c National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
P Bruschi
;
P Bruschi
b University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
L Cansolino
;
L Cansolino
a University of Pavia, Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
A. M Clerici
;
A. M Clerici
a University of Pavia, Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
A Coppola
;
A Coppola
d Struttura Complessa di Fisica Sanitaria, Medical Physics Department, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
R Di Liberto
;
R Di Liberto
d Struttura Complessa di Fisica Sanitaria, Medical Physics Department, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
P Dionigi
;
P Dionigi
a University of Pavia, Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
N Protti
;
N Protti
b University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, Pavia, Italy
c National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
S Stella
;
S Stella
b University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, Pavia, Italy
c National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
A Zonta
;
A Zonta
a University of Pavia, Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
C Zonta
;
C Zonta
a University of Pavia, Department of Surgery, Experimental Surgery Laboratory, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
S Altieri
S Altieri
b University of Pavia, Department of Nuclear and Theoretical Physics, Pavia, Italy
c National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Search for other works by this author on:
Radiat Res (2011) 175 (4): 452–462.
Article history
Received:
January 25 2010
Accepted:
September 28 2010
Citation
C Ferrari, J Bakeine, F Ballarini, A Boninella, S Bortolussi, P Bruschi, L Cansolino, A. M Clerici, A Coppola, R Di Liberto, P Dionigi, N Protti, S Stella, A Zonta, C Zonta, S Altieri; In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: Boron Uptake/Washout and Cell Death. Radiat Res 1 April 2011; 175 (4): 452–462. doi: https://doi.org/10.1667/RR2156.1
Download citation file:
Close
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionCiting articles via
Commonalities Between COVID-19 and Radiation Injury
Carmen I. Rios, David R. Cassatt, Brynn A. Hollingsworth, Merriline M. Satyamitra, Yeabsera S. Tadesse, Lanyn P. Taliaferro, Thomas A. Winters, Andrea L. DiCarlo
Low-Dose Radiation Therapy (LDRT) for COVID-19: Benefits or Risks?
Pataje G. Prasanna, Gayle E. Woloschak, Andrea L. DiCarlo, Jeffrey C. Buchsbaum, Dörthe Schaue, Arnab Chakravarti, Francis A. Cucinotta, Silvia C. Formenti, Chandan Guha, Dale J. Hu, Mohammad K. Khan, David G. Kirsch, Sunil Krishnan, Wolfgang W. Leitner, Brian Marples, William McBride, Minesh P. Mehta, Shahin Rafii, Elad Sharon, Julie M. Sullivan, Ralph R. Weichselbaum, Mansoor M. Ahmed, Bhadrasain Vikram, C. Norman Coleman, Kathryn D. Held
Germicidal Efficacy and Mammalian Skin Safety of 222-nm UV Light
Manuela Buonanno, Brian Ponnaiya, David Welch, Milda Stanislauskas, Gerhard Randers-Pehrson, Lubomir Smilenov, Franklin D. Lowy, David M. Owens, David J. Brenner
Photon GRID Radiation Therapy: A Physics and Dosimetry White Paper from the Radiosurgery Society (RSS) GRID/LATTICE, Microbeam and FLASH Radiotherapy Working Group
Hualin Zhang, Xiaodong Wu, Xin Zhang, Sha X. Chang, Ali Megooni, Eric D. Donnelly, Mansoor M. Ahmed, Robert J. Griffin, James S. Welsh, Charles B. Simone, II, Nina A. Mayr