A new radiation therapy treatment developed for head and neck cancer patients can target large doses of radiation to the tumor using a well-tolerated boron compound, according to a study from Finland.
Head and neck carcinomas that recur locally after conventional irradiation pose a difficult therapeutic problem. A possible new treatment is boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), which is an experimental form of targeted radiation treatment for cancer that previously has been used to treat brain tumors. The technology potentially can be used to treat patients who can no longer undergo conventional radiation therapy.
BNCT involves infusion of a boron-containing compound ...