ARTICLE IN PRESS

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 552–557

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Monte Carlo simulation of depth–dose distribution in several

organic models for boron neutron capture therapy
T. Matsumoto
Atomic Energy Research Laboratory, Musashi Institute of Technology, 971 Ozenji, Asao-ku, Kawasaki-shi 215 0013, Japan
Available online 24 May 2007

Abstract

Monte Carlo simulations are performed to evaluate depth–dose distributions for possible treatment of cancers by boron neutron
capture therapy (BNCT). The ICRU computational model of ADAM & EVA was used as a phantom to simulate tumors at a depth of
5 cm in central regions of the lungs, liver and pancreas. Tumors of the prostate and osteosarcoma were also centered at the depth of 4.5
and 2.5 cm in the phantom models. The epithermal neutron beam from a research reactor was the primary neutron source for the MCNP
calculation of the depth–dose distributions in those cancer models. For brain tumor irradiations, the whole-body dose was also
evaluated. The MCNP simulations suggested that a lethal dose of 50 Gy to the tumors can be achieved without reaching the tolerance
dose of 25 Gy to normal tissue. The whole-body phantom calculations also showed that the BNCT could be applied for brain tumors
without significant damage to whole-body organs.
r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PACS: 21.60.Ka; 28.20.Gd

Keywords: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT); ADAM & EVA model; MCNP; Depth–dose distribution

1. Introduction 2. Materials and methods

Brain tumors have been treated successfully by boron
neutron capture therapy (BNCT) using an epithermal
neutron beam from research reactors [1]. An attempt was
made recently to develop accelerator-based BNCT in a
hospital to have a more flexible neutron source than a
research reactor. To attain the same recognition as
conventional radiotherapy, BNCT therapy, using an
epithermal neutron beam, should be applied not only to
brain tumors but also to various cancers, such as lung,
liver, pancreas, prostate and osteosarcoma. This paper
provides results of Monte Carlo simulations of depth–dose
distributions for possible treatment of these cancers by
BNCT. Whole-body calculations were also carried on the
doses to other organs when simulating a brain tumor
patient.
Tel.: +81 44 966 6131; fax: +81 44 955 6071.
E-mail address: mtetsuo@atom.musashi-tech.ac.jp
The ICRU computational model of ADAM & EVA [2]
was used as a phantom. A 2  2  2 cm lung tumor, at a
depth of 5 cm in a central region of left lung, was modeled
as shown in Fig. 1. A liver tumor (3  3  3 cm) was
simulated at the depth of 5 cm in a central region of liver,
and a pancreas tumor (2  2  2 cm) was also located at a
depth of 5 cm in the right side of pancreas, as shown in
Fig. 2. A prostate cancer (1  1  1 cm) was modeled inside
the prostate (3  3  3 cm) as shown in Fig. 3. The tumor
was placed at a depth of 4–5 cm from the surface. The
rectum (6  4  8 cm), the bladder (8  10  5 cm) and the
testicle (1  1.5  5 cm) are also included in the model. An
osteosarcoma (3  3  3 cm) was modeled around the knee
(8  8  15.5 cm) including the femur, patella and menis-
cus, as shown in Fig. 4. The center of the tumor center is
2.5 cm from the surface.
The calculations were performed by the three-dimen-
sional continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MCNP [3].
The epithermal neutron beam from a TRIGA-II reactor

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doi:10.1016/j.nima.2007.05.233
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T. Matsumoto / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 552–557
Fig. 1. Lung phantom model.
Fig. 2. Liver and pancreas phantom model.
Fig. 3. Prostate cancer model.
was used as the primary neutron source for the depth–dose
calculation, as shown in Fig. 5. The 10B concentration in
the tumor was assumed to be 100 ppm for the lung, and
553
Fig. 4. Ostersarcoma model.
30 ppm for the liver, pancreas, prostate and osteosarcoma.
The normal tissue was assumed to contain 1/10 of the
tumor’s concentration. The dose, without considering the
RBE values for each radiation, was calculated for the
estimation of the depth–dose distributions in the tumor
and normal tissue.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. The lung
Fig. 6 shows the calculated three-dimensional depth–
dose distributions of the total dose rate for lung cancer.
The dose observed is elevated over the tumor region. The
average dose rate in the tumor was 3.7 Gy h 1 when
irradiating with an epithermal neutron flux of
5  108 n cm 2 s 1. The tumor-to-normal tissue dose ratio
was 2.5. A lethal dose of 50 Gy to the liver cancer can be
accomplished without reaching the 25 Gy tolerance dose to
the normal tissue. This result is very encouraging and
seems to indicate that lung cancer could be treated by
BNCT under the conditions of calculation.
3.2. The liver
Fig. 7 shows the calculated three-dimensional depth–
dose distributions of the total dose rate for liver cancer.
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554 T. Matsumoto / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 552–557

Fig. 5. Spectra of neutron beams from a TRIGA-II reactor.

Fig. 6. Three-dimensional depth–dose distributions for lung cancer.

The dose observed is higher over the tumor region. The
average dose rate in the tumor was 4 Gy h 1 when
irradiating with an epithermal neutron flux of
5  108 n cm 2 s 1. The tumor-to-normal tissue dose ratio
was 2.7. This result is also encouraging and seems to
indicate that BNCT could be applied for liver cancer
treatment under the calculated conditions. However, if
the normal tissues contain 1/4 of the boron concentration
in the tumor (7.5 ppm boron), the dose ratio decreased to
1.8. Even in this case, when considering the large RBE
10
value for the B(n,a)7 Li reaction, BNCT would still be
feasible.
3.3. The pancreas
Fig. 8 shows the calculated three-dimensional depth–
dose distributions of the total dose rate for pancreatic
cancer. The dose observed is elevated over the tumor
region. The average dose rate in the tumor was 4.3 Gy h 1
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T. Matsumoto / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 552–557 555

Fig. 7. Three-dimensional depth–dose distributions for liver cancer.

Fig. 8. Three-dimensional depth–dose distributions for pancreatic cancer.

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556 T. Matsumoto / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 580 (2007) 552–557
when irradiating with an epithermal neutron flux of
5  108 n cm 2 s 1. The tumor-to-normal tissue dose ratio
was 2.4. This result also seems to indicate that pancreatic
cancer could be treated by BNCT under the simulated
conditions.
3.4. The prostate
Fig. 9 shows the calculated depth–dose distri-
butions along the central axis of the phantom for prostate
cancer. The tumor region has a higher dose value than the
normal tissue region. The average dose rate in the tumor
was 4.7 Gy h 1 when irradiating with an epithermal
neutron flux of 5  108 n cm 2 s 1. The tumor-to-normal
tissue dose ratio was 2.2. This result also suggests that
prostate cancer could be treated by BNCT under these
conditions.
Fig. 9. Depth–dose distributions along the central axis of phantom for
prostate cancer.
Fig. 10. Three-dimensional depth–dose distributions for osteosarcoma.
3.5. The osterosarcoma
Fig. 10 shows the calculated three-dimensional depth–
dose distributions of the total dose rate for osteosarcoma.
The dose observed is high over the tumor region. The
average dose rate in the tumor was 5.3 Gy h 1 when
irradiating with an epithermal neutron flux of
5  108 n cm 2 s 1. The tumor-to-normal tissue dose ratio
was 4.8. A larger dose rate with a higher dose ratio can be
obtained for osteosarcoma because the tumor is located
near the surface.
3.6. The whole body
Fig. 11 illustrates the calculated organ dose rates for
brain tumor treatment by using an epithermal neutron
beam with an 8 cm diameter beam size. The gamma-ray
dose, mostly due to capture gamma-rays, was much higher
than the neutron dose except around the head. A maximum
dose of 1.9 Gy was calculated for the head. The doses for
the other organs, except the eye (0.4 Gy), were much
smaller than their tolerance doses when employing a
thermal neutron fluence of 5  1012 n cm 2, corresponding
to the dose of 12 Gy (tumor dose) required for BNCT
treatment.
4. Conclusions
The evaluated depth–dose distributions for liver, lung,
pancreatic, prostate and osteosarcoma cancers suggest that
BNCT could be applied for treating those cancers under
the conditions studied in the paper. The epithermal
neutron beam used for brain tumor treatment would not
significantly damage the whole-body organs.
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Fig. 11. Organ dose in the whole-body model where thermal, epithermal, fast neutron, gamma-ray and total dose rates are indicated inside brackets.

References [2] ICRU Report 48, Phantoms and Computational Models in Therapy,
New York, 1992.
[1] W. Sauerwein, et al. (Eds.), Research and Development in Neutron [3] J.F. Briesmeister (Ed.), MCNP Monte Carlo N-particle Transport
Capture Therapy, Monduzi Editore, Essen, Germany, 2002. Code, Version 4A, LA-12625-M, 1993.