On September 26, the side event “Progress in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT)” was co-hosted by Okayama University and the IAEA at the 66th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, Austria with the support of the Japanese government.
　
The event began with a ceremony to designate(*1) Okayama University as a new IAEA Collaborating Center, in which the University and IAEA agreed to cooperate on the following in the area of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT): 1. provide assistance to BNCT institutions; 2. provide education and training for BNCT specialists; 3. research and development for international standardization of BNCT; and 4. disseminate information related to BNCT. One of the IAEA initiatives is sustainability-based “Rays of Hope: Cancer Care for All” to build or strengthen radiation safety legislation and infrastructure and provides quality control, guidance, training, and equipment. The University will contribute to the mission of international institutions in the BNCT field. After opening remarks from Najat MOKHTAR, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, HIKIHARA Takeshi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna), and MAKINO Hirofumi, President of Okayama University there was a signing ceremony and the awarding of a plaque for the University’s designation as an IAEA Collaborating Center.
　
Following this, there was a lecture on BNCT. Recent years have seen the development of compact accelerator-based neutron sources that can be installed in hospitals. In Japan, regulatory approval was gained for a BNCT system using accelerator-based neutron sources, a treatment planning device and a boron-containing pharmaceutical for use in treatment for recurrent, unresectable head and neck cancer. There were introductions about leading cancer radiation therapy initiatives using BNCT from four companies involved in developing accelerator-based BNCT systems, and one boron pharmaceutical company. First there was a brief introduction by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., who commenced insurance treatment in Japan for those with head and neck cancer in 2020, about the path to medical approval for an accelerator-based BNCT system, and expansion to the Hainan Medical Tourism Pilot Zone (China). This was followed by a speech about the clinical trial preparation status for Neutron Therapeutics’ accelerator-based BNCT system, which has been introduced to Helsinki University Hospital (Finland) and its expansion into Shonan Kamakura General Hospital (Japan), and then an introduction about the status of preclinical trials of TAE Life Sciences’ accelerator-based BNCT system that has been introduced at Xiamen Humanity Hospital (China) and the expansion to CNAO (Italy), and an overview of the BNCT system prototype by CNEA (Argentina) introduced to KIRAMS (South Korea). There was also an overview of Stella Pharma’s borofalan (Steboronine), which has been approved in Japan as a BNCT boron-containing pharmaceutical, and an introduction about the borofalan expansion for BNCT systems at five facilities. Lastly, there were closing remarks from Melissa DENECKE, Director of the IAEA's Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, and it was announced that the 400-page technical document on BNCT that was written in 2019 with IAEA as secretariat in collaboration with Okayama University would be updated and published for the first time in over 20 years.
　
More than 50 people from member nations attended the side event, demonstrating the high level of global interest in BNCT. There are more than 30 institutions related to BNCT globally, and further development of BNCT is expected with companies entering the market and many new facilities under construction or planned. As an IAEA Cooperating Center, Okayama University will contribute to global health and peace through research, education, and information dissemination on BNCT.



(*1) IAEA Cooperating Center
IAEA, which works to promote the use of nuclear technology, promotes cooperation with designated institutions throughout the world. There are 58 IAEA Cooperating Centers in 36 countries that carry out their own development and training related to research on nuclear power and its safe and reliable application through the network of Cooperating Centers (August 2022). Okayama University is the fourth institution in Japan to be designated as an IAEA Cooperating Center, following the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) in 2005 and Hiroshima International Council for the Radiation-exposed (HICARE) in 2014 in the radiation medical field, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in 2021 in the two fields of decommissioning/waste management and nuclear security.