Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT)
A targeted radiotherapy that delivers its dose cell-by-cell, sparing the tissue around it.
BNCT is a two-step radiotherapy. A boron-carrying compound is given first and accumulates preferentially in tumour cells; a neutron beam then triggers a short-range reaction inside those cells. Because the reaction travels roughly one cell diameter, the dose is confined far more tightly than with conventional photon radiotherapy.
In practice this matters most where the tumour sits next to something that cannot be damaged — the optic nerve, the skull base, the carotid. The zone operates one of a small number of BNCT systems in the world, and a single session typically takes under an hour.
What it does not do
- Suitability depends on tumour type, size and prior radiotherapy dose. Not every recurrent head and neck case qualifies.
- Availability runs in treatment batches. Scheduling is confirmed by the hospital, not by us.
- BNCT is not a substitute for surgery, systemic therapy or standard radiotherapy where those are still options.
These limits are written by us, not by the hospital. If a provider presents this therapy without any of them, treat that as a warning sign.
| Indication | Recurrent head and neck tumours, selected skull-base and brain tumours |
| Approved in | Japan |
| Status in China | In clinical use under the zone's special-access pathway |
| Assessment required | Yes — physician assessment first |
| Delivered at | 2 hospital(s) |
Delivered at
Boao Super Hospital
The zone's shared platform. Most international patients start here because the special-access catalogue and the multidisciplinary teams are concentrated in one building.
Pengbo Boron Neutron Therapy Hospital
Built around a single accelerator-based BNCT system — one of a small number operating worldwide. Treatment planning is done by the hospital's own physics and radiation-oncology team.
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Tell us the therapy by name, and we will check it.
Availability moves with batches and indications. A two-line enquiry is enough for us to confirm whether it is reachable this quarter.