An accelerator-based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) facility based on the 7Li(p,n)7Be

BNCT (Boron Neutron Capture Therapy) is a therapeutic modality used to irradiate tumors cells previously loaded with the stable isotope B-10, with thermal or epithermal neutrons. This technique is capable of delivering a high dose to the tumor cells while the healthy surrounding tissue receive a much lower dose depending on the B-10 biodistribution. In this study, therapeutic gain and tumor dose per target power, as parameters to evaluate the treatment quality, were calculated. The common neutron-producing reaction Li-7(p,n)Be-7 for accelerator-based BNCT, having a reaction threshold of 1880.4 keV, was considered as the primary source of neutrons. Energies near the reaction threshold for deep-seated brain tumors were employed. These calculations were performed with the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) code. A simple but effective beam shaping assembly (BSA) was calculated producing a high therapeutic gain compared to previously proposed facilities with the same nuclear reaction.