The relative biological effectiveness of 10B-neutron capture therapy for early skin reaction in the hamster.

The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of 10B-neutron capture therapy (BNCT) on skin was analyzed using hamsters. The Kyoto University Research Reactor, which has a very low contamination of gamma rays and fast neutrons, was used as a thermal neutron source. Boron-10-para-boronophenylalanine hydrochloride ([10B]BPA.HCl) was administered to the hamsters. The evolution and time course of early skin reactions were assessed. These reactions were compared with those produced by electron beams. The maximum safe skin doses (no more than moist desquamation) of BNCT and electron beams were established to be 11 and 21 Gy, respectively. The RBE at this single dose with BNCT was found to be 1.94, assuming that the RBE of the gamma rays was 1.0 and each component of BNCT (mixed radiations) was simply additive.