Advancing BNCT: Innovations in Boron Compound Enhancement, Drug Delivery, and Theranostics

Project summary

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a novel radiotherapy, has proven effective for challenging brain tumors such as glioblastomas (GBM), which are unresponsive to standard treatments. Obstacles such as insufficient boron-10 concentration within GBM cells due to pharmaceutical selectivity and the blood-brain barrier (BBB), remain key challenges for BNCT effectiveness. This project's objectives encompass a comprehensive exploration of crucial innovative facets in BNCT, with the aim of laying a strong foundation for future collaborations and project applications. The goals include: 1) Elevating boron-10 concentration in tumors by investigating alternative compounds and methods to enhance their distribution, 2) Developing radio-labelling techniques for precise drug tracking and tissue comparison, 3) Evaluating strategies, like focused ultrasound and convection-enhanced delivery, to overcome the BBB and enhance drug delivery, 4) Assessing the efficacy of organoids and BBB spheroids as models for patient response replication, BBB-penetrating compound screening, and preclinical studies of new BNCT drugs and delivery methods, 5) Exploring microfluidic models with a focus on BBB functionality, enabling multiple experiments with low reagent consumption and bolstering the prospects for personalized medicine, 6) Developing high-resolution PET (positron emission tomography) algorithms to improve tumor localization, treatment planning, early response assessment, and BNCT precision and effectiveness, and 7) Establishing collaborations with experts across domains, with the shared objective of advancing innovations in BNCT and relevant technologies. This multifaceted initiative seeks to make substantial contributions to the field of BNCT and its impact on the treatment of malignant tumors.

This project with participation from HVL, UiS, UiB, Haukeland University Hospital, Norwegian Society for Neutron Capture Therapy, and Bergen Monte Carlo Hub, is supported by UH-nett Vest (College Network in Western Norway).