Enhancement in cell killing by proton beams in the presence of boron (natural mixture natB: 80% 11B, 20% 10B) was reported, selectively in the Bragg peak region, putatively due to the proton-11B capture reaction. However, as some groups observed no such enhancement or assigned it to secondary neutron-10B capture, proton-boron capture therapy (PBCT) remains controversial. We previously validated this concept for U-87 MG glioblastoma cells. To test its generality and potential applicability for these tumours, we assessed PBCT using three further cell lines widely used in glioblastoma research. In U251 cells, natB enhanced cell killing by protons in Bragg peak but also in plateau regions, effects of 10B were even higher, and were found also for 18MV but not 6 MV photon beams (above and below photo-neutron production thresholds, respectively), suggesting a key role of secondary neutrons. For A172 and T98G cells, no enhancement was found at all. This variability among cell lines may stem from differences in boron uptake and/or in intercellular signalling likely needed to amplify the initial events in a few hit cells to population-level effects. Together with recent negative studies, the results suggest that potential clinical applications of PBCT are less promising than originally thought.

• Keywords
• Cell survival, Glioblastoma cell lines, Proton beams, Proton-boron capture therapy, Secondary neutrons,
• MeSH
• Boron * pharmacology   MeSH
• Glioblastoma * radiotherapy   pathology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Cell Line, Tumor MeSH
• Brain Neoplasms * radiotherapy   pathology   MeSH
• Proton Therapy * methods   MeSH
• Protons MeSH
• Boron Neutron Capture Therapy * methods   MeSH
• Cell Survival radiation effects   drug effects   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Boron * MeSH
• Protons MeSH

This roadmap reviews the new, highly interdisciplinary research field studying the behavior of condensed matter systems exposed to radiation. The Review highlights several recent advances in the field and provides a roadmap for the development of the field over the next decade. Condensed matter systems exposed to radiation can be inorganic, organic, or biological, finite or infinite, composed of different molecular species or materials, exist in different phases, and operate under different thermodynamic conditions. Many of the key phenomena related to the behavior of irradiated systems are very similar and can be understood based on the same fundamental theoretical principles and computational approaches. The multiscale nature of such phenomena requires the quantitative description of the radiation-induced effects occurring at different spatial and temporal scales, ranging from the atomic to the macroscopic, and the interlinks between such descriptions. The multiscale nature of the effects and the similarity of their manifestation in systems of different origins necessarily bring together different disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, nanoscience, and biomedical research, demonstrating the numerous interlinks and commonalities between them. This research field is highly relevant to many novel and emerging technologies and medical applications.

• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH