20 November 2017 – RaySearch and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo), based in Tokyo, Japan, have entered into an agreement regarding treatment planning for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) – a unique type of radiation therapy that targets cancer at the cellular level. The agreement extends the existing cooperation between Sumitomo and RaySearch on proton therapy.
Sumitomo has developed the world’s first accelerator-based clinical BNCT system and is conducting clinical trials regarding recurrent head-and-neck and brain cancers in Japan. Treatment planning is an essential aspect of BNCT, and Sumitomo selected RayStation because of its advanced capabilities and usability.
Under the agreement, RayStation’s functionality will be extended to support BNCT planning requirements*. BNCT will be an additional treatment modality in RayStation, alongside the existing options for photon, electron, proton, and carbon ion therapy. Users of BNCT will have access to the full range of advanced functionality in RayStation, including atlas-based segmentation, deformable image registration and scripting.
BNCT is a promising radiation therapy technique based on a two-step process. First, the patient is injected with a tumor-localizing drug containing the non-radioactive isotope boron-10. In the second step, the target area is exposed to a beam of low-energy neutrons, many of which are absorbed by the boron-10. The absorption initiates a reaction in which short-range, high-energy charged particles are emitted. These particles systematically destroy the tumor cells, with minimal damage to adjacent healthy tissue.
Tetsuya Okamura, Senior Vice President and General Manager Industrial Equipment Division at Sumitomo, says: “We are very pleased to work with RaySearch in developing future technologies such as BNCT. This is an emerging treatment method, and there is still a long way to go, but I believe our collaboration will accelerate commercialization of the modality and provide great benefits for cancer patients and hospitals.”
Johan Löf, CEO of RaySearch, says: “RaySearch is committed to supporting cutting-edge techniques and approaches that have the potential to improve cancer treatment. This agreement presents exciting new possibilities, and we look forward to exploring the clinical possibilities of BNCT together with Sumitomo.”
