A World First! NTHU Teams Up with MacKay Hospital to Conduct Human Trials with BNCT
R.J. Sheu, director of the Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center (NSTDC) at NTHU, said that BNCT is a kind of targeted radiation therapy where the patient is injected with a drug containing boron, which serves as a target. Once the drug has accumulated in the tumor, a neutron beam is used to irradiate the tumor. This causes the nuclei of the boron atoms to divide, producing alpha particles and lithium nuclei which explode, thereby destroying the cancer cells, without damaging nearby normal cells.
Utilizing a nuclear reactor that has been converted to medical use, NTHU has already treated more than 500 cases of brain tumors and head and neck cancers, including patients from overseas, many of whom suffer from malignant brain tumors that were considered incurable.
The boron-containing drug that is readily absorbed by liver tumors was developed by a team of researchers at the NSTDC led by Professor Fong-In Chou, known as the "Mother of BNCT.”
After signing the memorandum of cooperation with Hsinchu MacKay Hospital, NTHU president W. John Kao said that the launching of clinical trials with humans is a major step forward in developing this technology, and that "it will bring a glimmer of light to liver cancer patients who have lost hope.”
Shun-Long Weng, director of Hsinchu MacKay Memorial Hospital, said that liver cancer often recurs, since a cancerous liver no longer functions normally, and that even if the tumor is removed, the risk remains. Moreover, the existing treatments for liver cancer aren't very effective, making this cooperative research a new source of hope for liver cancer patients.
Chou said that one of the main challenges in this research has been developing a drug that is readily absorbed by cancerous liver cells but not by normal cells. The boron-containing drug developed by her team for this purpose is called boroncide; it has already been used in animal experiments, but it will take at least another three months to receive approval from the Ministry of Health and Welfare for use in humans.
Liver cancer ranks second among the top ten causes of cancer death in Taiwan, said Chou, and by the time it is diagnosed, the cancer is often in the final stage. BNCT targets tumors without harming surrounding healthy cells, making it highly suitable for treating multiple or diffuse liver tumors and proliferated vascular tissue.
Wen-Ke Chen, a doctor at MacKay Hospital, said that traditional treatments for liver cancer are not very effective and that the cancerous cells tend to return or metastasize. However, BNCT is set to change all that. Chen mentioned the critical situation of a middle-aged woman suffering from recurring liver cancer with a cancer index of 7,000, which is currently untreatable. After hearing about BNCT, she has regained hope and is looking forward to receiving this new treatment as soon as it becomes available.
Contact:
Holly Hsueh
NTHU
(886)3-5162006
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/774647f5-277c-4843-a7c5-276e0804f750
