June. 26, 2006

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (‘JAEA’ in short: Yuichi Tonozuka, President) performs a clinical research for cancer therapy by the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) using JRR-4, which is a fission reactor for research use, under a gratuitous cooperation of Tokai Village Hospital. The use of Tokai Village Hospital for BNCT clinical trial is the first time.

So far, JAEA has contributed to the BNCT clinical trial using JRR-4, which is an advanced method for cancer therapy, under a good collaboration with medical organizations and the clinical trial has reached at approximately fifty cases.

Now we have surgical, chemical and radiation therapies for cancer therapy. BNCT, which is a sort of the radiation therapy, is prevailing and operated from coast to coast these days, because it gradually gets recognized that BNCT has a good performance on therapeutic effect and a good QOL (i.e.: the Quality Of Life). It should be noted that JRR-4 is the sole reactor facility to enable BNCT in Japan at this moment.

Recent BNCT clinical trial is reached at the step-up phase to further improve its performance on therapeutic effect and to enable its application to intractable cancers other than the brain tumor. It becomes necessary, for the step-up, to identify the position of each cancer cell in the patient body by an advanced medical device such as CT (i.e.: Computed Tomography) and MRI (i.e.: Magnetic Resonance Imaging) just before the BNCT implementation. Considering this necessity, a good cooperation is longed for to a medical organization located on the vicinity of JRR-4.

Followed by a present situation that BNCT clinical trial can be implemented in coalition with Tokai Village Hospital (opened on May, 2006), which meets the needs mentioned above, Osaka Medical Collage (Prof. Shinichi Miyatake) uses the hospital first for his BNCT clinical trial on 27th June, 2006.

JAEA is thinking of making a good cooperative relation with not only Tokai Village Hospital but also hospitals in the vicinity in order to drive the medical application of nuclear technology forward by implementing BNCT clinical trials smoothly.

ANNEXES:
Annex 1:Cooperative relation including Tokai Village Hospital for BNCT clinical trials
Annex 2:What is the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT)?
Annex 3:Work sharing in BNCT research
Annex 4:JRR-4 neutron beam facility
Annex 5:Present state of BNCT clinical trial