Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a promising method for treating malignant tumors by accumulating the stable isotope boron-10 in them and then irradiating them with epithermal neutrons.
As a result of the absorption of a neutron by boron, a nuclear reaction occurs with a large release of energy in the cell that contained the boron nucleus, which leads to its death. Clinical trials conducted on nuclear reactors have shown that BNCT can treat brain glioblastomas, melanoma metastases, and a number of other tumors. For the widespread introduction of the technique into clinical practice, compact sources of epithermal neutrons based on a charged particle accelerator are needed. One of such sources is the accelerator based neutron source VITA, which includes a tandem electrostatic charged particle accelerator of an original design, later called a vacuum insulated tandem accelerator, to produce a stationary proton beam, a lithium target for generating neutrons, and a beam shaping assembly to produce a therapeutic neutron beam that fully meets the IAEA requirements for BNCT. The accelerator based neutron source VITA at BINP site is actively used to develop the BNCT technique, to develop the lithium neutron capture therapy technique, for radiation testing of promising materials, to measure the cross section of nuclear reactions, and to advance the creation of a neutron-neutron collider. The accelerator based neutron source VITA-II伪 is used in China to treat patients with the BNCT method. The accelerator based neutron source VITA-II尾 at Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology will be put into operation for conducting clinical trials of the BNCT method since 2025. The laboratory team, together with scientists from other organizations, continues to improve the facility and expand the scope of its applications.
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