ANSTO researchers have made a potentially groundbreaking advance in cancer treatment. 

Researchers at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) are working on an innovative new approach called Neutron Capture Enhanced Particle Therapy (NCEPT), which could improve treatment outcomes for patients with deep and diffuse tumours.

New findings published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, reveal that the inclusion of neutron capture agents during carbon and helium ion beam irradiation leads to a substantially greater reduction in cancer cell survival and growth compared to ion radiation alone. 

Specifically, the study showed a three to five times increase in the reduction of cancer cell survival when these agents were used.

The study - a collaborative effort involving researchers from ANSTO, the University of Wollongong, the University of Sydney, and Japan's National Institutes for Quantum Sciences and Technology - demonstrates that internally generated neutrons could effectively target micro-infiltrates and cancer cells beyond the defined treatment areas.

“Our results show the potential for NCEPT to provide an increased dose to tumour tissue within the treatment volume while reducing radiation doses to off-target tissue,” says Associate Professor Mitra Safavi-Naeini, the project lead and corresponding author of the study. 

“This could lead to better outcomes for patients with challenging cancers, such as brain tumours, that are difficult to treat with conventional therapies.”

The researchers employed two neutron capture agents in their experiments with human glioblastoma cells. 

The results indicated a significant decrease in cell survival and delayed growth when these agents were used alongside carbon and helium ion beams, compared to cells that did not receive the agents.

This approach could enhance the treatment of various cancers by enhancing the precision of energy deposition within cancer cells and tissues. 

“By combining the spatial and temporal precision of charged particle therapy with the biochemical targeting of neutron capture therapy, we can achieve a remarkably high specificity of energy deposition within cancer cells and tissues,” says Nicholas Howell, the study’s first author.

Looking ahead, the team plans to conduct further research to assess the efficacy of NCEPT in vivo and explore its potential for clinical application. 

Currently, particle therapy is not available in Australia, but the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research in Adelaide is expected to commence operations in 2024-25, and a new Cancer Centre in Brisbane will soon offer proton therapy. 

Australian patients can also apply for proton therapy funding through the Federal Government's Medical Treatment Overseas Program.

Earlier this year, the group published their first experimental demonstration of real-time neutron capture discrimination in helium and carbon ion therapy in the journal Scientific Reports. 

This work has also led to two new associated patents.