KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 -- National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) has converted Tsing Hua Open pool Reactor (THOR) for use in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), in cooperation with the Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH).
On Feb 14, the melodious strains of the fourth movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony were heard inside the building of THOR at NTHU. This is the favourite piece of music of a European woman who was here to undergo BNCT for a malignant brain tumour.
According to a statement, this was her second course of treatment and the size of malignant glioma deep in her brainstem was reduced from 3.51 cm to 1.06 cm after the first treatment.
To date, the treatment has provided a new lease on life to over 130 cancer patients worldwide.
According to Professor Chou Fong-in, BNCT is a target radiation therapy in which the patient is first injected with a boron-containing drug; once the drug has accumulated in the tumour, the neutron beam is used to irradiate the tumour for delivering curative doses specifically to tumours, while sparing normal tissue.
As explained by TVGH oncologist Chen Yi-wei, boron-10 drug contains the structure like essential amino acids and cancer cells need lots of nutrients to support their abnormal proliferation.
According to Dr Chen, the key requirements for BNCT are a boron-containing drug suitable for absorption by cancer cells and a stable neutron source with appropriate energy spectrum, whereby NTHU’s research reactor has been retrofitted to provide the neutron source.
NTHU and the Taoyuan City Government are planning to jointly develop a medical complex as part of the Taoyuan Aerotropolis to be built near the Taoyuan Airport. The BNCT will play a major role at the new facility and will be used to treat Taiwanese and overseas patients.
-- BERNAMA
No comments:
Post a Comment