Title: Perspectives in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: accelerating a new hope in the fight of cancer
With great joy, we would like to invite you to the Second BNCT International Webinar. The speaker will be Ignacio Porras, Professor and researcher in Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics at the University of Granada, Spain.
The webinar will be held virtually (zoom platform), on Friday 8th March at 10 UTC. It will be a 45-minute webinar: 30 minutes exposition + 15 minutes discussion. We will have to stick to the time because participants will be from all over the world!
Title: Perspectives in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: accelerating a new hope in the fight of cancer
Name: Ignacio Porras
Title: Professor and researcher (Ph.D. in physics)
Abstract:
Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) has recently shown very promising results for the treatment of cancers of bad prognosis such as brain tumors and recurrent head and neck cancers. This therapy is now facing a renaissance with the introduction of a new generation of in-hospital accelerator based BNCT centers, and some of them had started clinical trials.
I will give a brief summary of the history of BNCT and previous results from clinical trials performed at research reactors. Then, the first results from accelerator-based ones as well as the projected new facilities around the world would be presented.
In particular, the project NeMeSis at Granada (Spain) will be briefly described. This particular projected facility aims to join two applications from the same accelerator: BNCT therapy and medical radioisotope production from innovative routes. This would make the facility more sustainable, which can help in the expansion of BNCT.
In addition to this, some open research problems in BNCT will be mentioned, as it is the search for new boron compounds, the potential synergies with immunotherapies and the reduction of uncertainties with improved nuclear and radiobiological data and boron distribution measurements.
Biosketch:
Professor and researcher in Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics at the University of Granada since 1998, with special emphasis on Medical Physics and Neutron Applications. Director of the University Chair ‘Neutrons for Medicine’ in Granada University since 2017 and President of the International Society for Neutron Capture Therapy (ISNCT) since 2018. Leader of the Project NeMeSis towards a facility for clinical BNCT and radioisotope production at the University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves in Granada (Spain).
Andalusian Flag for Research in Science and Health 2023. Award “Singular Project” 2016 from the Spanish National Society Against Cancer (AECC)