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Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for the Treatment of Oral Cancer in the Hamster Cheek Pouch Model¹

Departments of Radiobiology [E. L. K., M. E. I., A. E. S.] and Nuclear Engineering [J. L., H. B., O. C.], National Atomic Energy Commission, 1429 Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Oral Pathology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Buenos Aires, 1122 Buenos Aires, Argentina [M. E. I.]

We have proposed and validated the hamster cheek pouch model of oral cancer for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) studies and shown that boronophenylalanine delivers potentially therapeutic 36.9 ± 17.5 ppm boron to tumor tissue with tumor:normal tissue and tumor:blood ratios of 2.4:1 and 3.2:1, respectively. Here we report the first evidence of the usefulness of BNCT for the treatment of oral cancer in an experimental model. We assessed the response of hamster cheek pouch tumors, precancerous tissue, and normal oral tissue to boronophenylalanine-mediated BNCT using the thermalized epithermal beam of the RA-6 Reactor at the Bariloche Atomic Center. BNCT leads to complete remission by 15 days posttreatment in 78% of tumors and partial remission in an additional 13% of tumors with virtually no damage to normal tissue.