New Radiation Therapy Treatment Developed for Head And Neck Cancer Patients

HELSINKI, FINLAND -- August 17, 2007 -- Most head-and-neck cancers that recur locally after prior full-dose conventional radiation therapy respond to Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT).

These results were obtained in a phase 1/2 study at the Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. The scientific director of the research program, professor Heikki Joensuu, University of Helsinki, considers the results clinically significant and very interesting. They open a new field for BNCT, since thus far BNCT has been evaluated only in the treatment of some brain tumours.

The follow-up results of 12 patients diagnosed with cancer of the head-and-neck and treated in a prospective clinical trial were reported in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology & Physics.

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