The equal effectiveness ratio: A quantitative approach to the evaluation of compounds for boron neutron capture therapy

The resurgence of interest in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) as a potential treatment for glioblastomas and melanomas has resulted in a quest to identify and synthesize candidate compounds which can physiologically target the ¹⁰B atoms to tumor cells. Numerous boron-carrying compounds are now available and awaiting evaluation. Because the products of the boron neutron capture (BNC) reaction generally contribute greater than 50% of the dose in BNCT, the evaluation of the efficacy of boron compounds would be more precise if it were possible to remove, quantitatively, the dose contributed by the external reactor radiations. The purpose of this study is to report a method which does just that, i.e., leaves for precise evaluation the biological effect that is ascribable to the BNC products only. The evaluation involves a series of separately quantifiable factors, the product of which provides an overall 'figure of merit' for the compound.