PBCT

The PBCT project aims at establishing the p + 11B → 3α (p-B) reaction as a novel strategy to enhance protontherapy effectiveness. The reaction effects will be investigated in human glioma cells both in in-vitro and in-vivo models, in conjunction with boron uptake and metabolization studies. Analytical models will link the observed radiobiological results with the physics underlying the reaction. First proposed by Do-Kun et al. [1] but in vitro experimentally proved by Cirrone et al [2 ], the rationale for PBCT lies in the high radiobiological effectiveness of the short-range alpha particles generated in the p-B reaction. Except for the superior ballistic precision at conforming the dose to the cancer volume, protontherapy lacks a distinctive clinical advantage over conventional radiotherapy, protons being almost as effective as photons/electrons at damaging DNA. Thus, PBCT could treat radioresistant cancers (e.g. gliomas), for which protons are currently of no avail. Moreover, locally increasing the biological effective dose to tumors would allow a major shift towards hypofractionation regimes, improving protontherapy cost-effectiveness. The final aim of this project is, therefore, to prove the viability of PBCT, paving the way for the first clinical trials on patients.