Recently, a research team from the Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center published a paper titled “Systemic Immunity Triggered by Boron Neutron Capture Therapy via Manganese-Borate Complex” in *Materials Today Bio* (IF=10.2), a CAS Zone 1 Top journal. The study was jointly completed by Dr. Liu Yang’s team from the Neutron Technology Application Research Center of the Institute, together with research teams from the School of Medicine at Nanjing University, the Tenth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (Dongguan People’s Hospital), the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, and the University of Science and Technology of China. The Institute of Energy served as the first completion unit.

While killing tumor cells, conventional radiotherapy often damages immune cells, thereby weakening the anti-tumor immune response. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) relies on the 1?B(n,α)?Li nuclear reaction occurring inside tumor cells to achieve precise and efficient tumor ablation. However, the clinically used borono-phenylalanine (BPA) formulation has limitations such as high administration dosage and insufficient tumor retention, which restrict its therapeutic efficacy.

To address these issues, the research team developed a novel BNCT agent using raw materials with preliminarily verified human safety, including boric acid, manganese, and albumin. This agent demonstrates excellent tumor-targeting retention, enabling it to adapt to the longer irradiation times required by compact neutron sources and thereby broadening the application prospects of miniaturized neutron sources in BNCT. In addition, the agent can trigger anti-tumor immune responses through the neutron capture process: it achieves significant tumor suppression even at low neutron irradiation doses, promotes immune cell infiltration into tumor tissues, and inhibits the growth of distant metastatic tumors. Notably, the agent also possesses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capability, allowing real-time imaging monitoring during treatment and providing convenience for precise clinical diagnosis and therapy.

In this study, the team proposed the concept of Boron Neutron Capture Immunotherapy (BNCI). This concept addresses the shortcomings of conventional BNCT in terms of durable therapeutic effects and inhibition of distant tumor metastasis, achieving a technological upgrade from simple local radiotherapy to a multi-modal “precision radiotherapy + systemic immunity” BNCI approach.

Paper Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102904