# Boron neutron capture therapy

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/bnct/  
OnCo record `bnct` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In boron neutron capture therapy a boron drug accumulates in tumour cells, then a neutron beam makes only those cells explode from inside.

## Summary

Boron neutron capture therapy relies on a boron drug that accumulates in tumour cells: 10B captures thermal neutrons and fissions into alpha and lithium particles with a range of about 10 micrometres, so the damage is confined to the cell that took up the boron. It is approved in Japan (2020) for recurrent head and neck cancer using accelerator-based neutron sources (Sumitomo) and borofalan (10B). Trials extend to glioma and melanoma. The selectivity is cellular-level in principle, but in practice the boron delivery agent limits tumour selectivity, and very few facilities exist. The simple version is that a boron drug marks the tumour cells and a neutron beam then makes only those cells explode from inside.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Principle: 10B captures thermal neutrons and fissions into alpha and lithium particles with ~10 µm range.
- Strengths: Cellular-level selectivity
- Limitations: Boron delivery agent limits tumour selectivity; Few facilities

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_capture_therapy_of_cancer
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_capture_therapy_of_cancer

## Connected records

- cancers: [Glioma & glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/glioblastoma/), [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/)
- fronts: [Radiation Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/radiation/)
- trials: [To Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Accelerator-Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (AB-BNCT) Combined With NBB-001 and NBB-002 for Patients With Recurrent Head and Neck Malignancies](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07795034/)
- companies: [Neuboron Medtech](https://onco.cc/companies/neuboron-medtech/), [Neutron Therapeutics](https://onco.cc/companies/neutron-therapeutics/), [Stella Pharma](https://onco.cc/companies/stella-pharma/), [Sumitomo Heavy Industries](https://onco.cc/companies/sumitomo-heavy-industries/), [TAE Life Sciences](https://onco.cc/companies/tae-life-sciences/)
- roadmaps: [Radiotherapy roadmap: X-rays → shaped beams → fewer fractions, particles and FLASH](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/radiation-roadmap/)
- terms: [Linear energy transfer (LET)](https://onco.cc/terms/linear-energy-transfer/), [Oxygen enhancement ratio](https://onco.cc/terms/oxygen-enhancement-ratio/)
- technologies: [Accelerator-based BNCT systems (NeuCure, nuBeam, NeuPex)](https://onco.cc/technologies/bnct-accelerator-systems/), [Carbon-ion synchrotrons and facilities](https://onco.cc/technologies/carbon-ion-synchrotrons/)

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