Vol.99 No.12 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 99 No. 12 December 2006
BNCT of Nasal Melanoma: A Case Report
Teruhito Aihara, Junichi Hiratsuka, Norimasa Morita,
Suetaka Nishiike, Masako Uno and Tamotsu Harada
(Kawasaki Medical School)
Koji Ono
(Radiation Oncology Research Laboratory, Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University)
Hiroaki Kumada
(Japan Atomic Energy Agency)
Malignant melanoma developing in the mucosa of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses is rare and has an unfavorable prognosis. We report the clinical course of the first case treated by boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for nasal malignant melanoma and discuss several advantages of BNCT. The patient was a 55-year-old man with nasal malignant melanoma complaining of right nasal bleeding. He underwent a pre-irradiation CT scan for treatment planning that was performed with the "JCDS" software program. The tumor was irradiated at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency Research Reactor No. 4 (JRR4) with epithermal neutrons at 3.5 MW for 44 minutes. The tumor dose and normal tissue dose calculated ranged from 16.0 to 21.2 Gy and from 6.8 to 9.5 Gy, respectively. There has been continuous complete regression in the tumor and no acute and chronic complications for 8 months up to the present. Although only one patient has shown a complete regression and additional long-term follow-up should be performed to assess this treatment, we believe that nasal malignant melanoma is suitable for BNCT and that such excellent results will have a great impact on patients in the near future.
Key words : BNCT, nasal malignant melanoma, JRR4