Session Speaker

Boron and Gadolinium Neutron Capture Therapy: New Perspectives in Cancer Treatment
Narayan S. Hosmane

One therapeutic principle governs two neutron-absorbing elements. Both, boron and gadolinium, target deadly cancers at cell level using a neutron beam trigger. Yet, fundamental differences in their neutron capture reactions set them worlds apart. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) has been applied to human patients for several decades. Neutron production and pharmaceutical drug discovery have evolved toward meeting the high requirements of NCT. Gadolinium Neutron Capture Therapy (GdNCT) presents an even higher challenge to researchers. The drug must target cancer cell DNA. Meeting this goal will produce a dual diagnostic and therapeutic probe. Gadolinium not only absorbs neutrons, but is commonly used in MRI contrast agents. BNCT and GdNCT have the possibility of coming together, either in one single drug molecule or as a drug cocktail in their quest to cure fatal brain cancer.1, 2.