Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verification
The use of boron (11B) is recently being investigated to be applied in proton therapy as a proton boron fusion dose enhancement agent. Alpha particles are emitted from the p + 11B → 3α fusion (PBF) reaction analogous to the 10B(n,7Li)α capture (BNC) reaction. If a natural boron content (80% 11B and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AIP Publishing LLC
2019-11-01
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| Series: | AIP Advances |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.5124322 |
| _version_ | 1819266597283430400 |
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| author | Moo-Sub Kim Martin Wai-Ming Law Shih-Kien Djeng Han-Back Shin Min-Geon Choi Yong-Jin Kim Bo-Young Choe Tae Suk Suh Do-Kun Yoon |
| author_facet | Moo-Sub Kim Martin Wai-Ming Law Shih-Kien Djeng Han-Back Shin Min-Geon Choi Yong-Jin Kim Bo-Young Choe Tae Suk Suh Do-Kun Yoon |
| author_sort | Moo-Sub Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The use of boron (11B) is recently being investigated to be applied in proton therapy as a proton boron fusion dose enhancement agent. Alpha particles are emitted from the p + 11B → 3α fusion (PBF) reaction analogous to the 10B(n,7Li)α capture (BNC) reaction. If a natural boron content (80% 11B and 20% 10B) is used in proton therapy, the contaminated neutrons, induced by the proton beam traversing a water medium, will react with 10B and the primary protons will react with 11B. Each reaction will emit alpha particles according to its reaction cross section. The dose due to these alpha particles, together with the primary proton beam, can induce tumor cell kill. The purpose of this study is to computationally investigate these synergy effects using the Monte Carlo simulation with the target region located in the water medium. A 79.9 MeV proton beam (proton density: 1.9 × 108 cm−2) with 4 monitor unit was used to irradiate the target consisting of water, 10B, 11B, and natural B. The variation of the dose, the location of the reaction, and the energy distribution of the alpha particles were calculated according to the target material. As a result, we confirmed contributions of both BNC and PBF reactions to emitting alpha particles from proton beam irradiation with natural boron. This synergy effect induced an additional 7.29% enhanced dose by 331 984 alpha particles. This enhanced dose can sufficiently reduce the number of treatment fractions in proton therapy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T21:03:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3c36c150b0fe400d8815d55439734458 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-3226 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T21:03:48Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | AIP Publishing LLC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AIP Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-3c36c150b0fe400d8815d554397344582022-12-21T17:31:18ZengAIP Publishing LLCAIP Advances2158-32262019-11-01911115017115017-510.1063/1.5124322Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verificationMoo-Sub Kim0Martin Wai-Ming Law1Shih-Kien Djeng2Han-Back Shin3Min-Geon Choi4Yong-Jin Kim5Bo-Young Choe6Tae Suk Suh7Do-Kun Yoon8Department of Biomedical Engineering and Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South KoreaProton Therapy Pte., Ltd., 1 Biopolis Drive 138622, SingaporeProton Therapy Pte., Ltd., 1 Biopolis Drive 138622, SingaporeDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, South KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering and Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering and Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering and Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering and Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South KoreaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering and Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, South KoreaThe use of boron (11B) is recently being investigated to be applied in proton therapy as a proton boron fusion dose enhancement agent. Alpha particles are emitted from the p + 11B → 3α fusion (PBF) reaction analogous to the 10B(n,7Li)α capture (BNC) reaction. If a natural boron content (80% 11B and 20% 10B) is used in proton therapy, the contaminated neutrons, induced by the proton beam traversing a water medium, will react with 10B and the primary protons will react with 11B. Each reaction will emit alpha particles according to its reaction cross section. The dose due to these alpha particles, together with the primary proton beam, can induce tumor cell kill. The purpose of this study is to computationally investigate these synergy effects using the Monte Carlo simulation with the target region located in the water medium. A 79.9 MeV proton beam (proton density: 1.9 × 108 cm−2) with 4 monitor unit was used to irradiate the target consisting of water, 10B, 11B, and natural B. The variation of the dose, the location of the reaction, and the energy distribution of the alpha particles were calculated according to the target material. As a result, we confirmed contributions of both BNC and PBF reactions to emitting alpha particles from proton beam irradiation with natural boron. This synergy effect induced an additional 7.29% enhanced dose by 331 984 alpha particles. This enhanced dose can sufficiently reduce the number of treatment fractions in proton therapy.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.5124322 |
| spellingShingle | Moo-Sub Kim Martin Wai-Ming Law Shih-Kien Djeng Han-Back Shin Min-Geon Choi Yong-Jin Kim Bo-Young Choe Tae Suk Suh Do-Kun Yoon Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verification AIP Advances |
| title | Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verification |
| title_full | Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verification |
| title_fullStr | Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verification |
| title_full_unstemmed | Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verification |
| title_short | Synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy: Computational verification |
| title_sort | synergy effect of alpha particles by using natural boron in proton therapy computational verification |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.5124322 |
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