Welcome Message

Public sauna Allas at the old market in downtown Helsinki. Foto by Eetu Ahanen.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The 10th Young Member’s Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (YBNCT) meeting will be held in Helsinki Finland, September 26-29, 2019. This year is remarkable in the history of BNCT. Finally, clinical accelerator based neutron sources are becoming a reality for BNCT. This year, the BNCT society is eagerly awaiting the results of the first clinical trials of head and neck, and brain cancer performed at the accelerator based BNCT facilities in Kyoto Research Reactor Institute and Southern Tohoku General Hospital, Japan. University of Tsukuba and Tokyo National Cancer Center are about to start the clinical trials using two different types of accelerator based neutron sources. At the same time, after some quiet years for clinical BNCT in Europe, the first Western accelerator based BNCT facility is under commissioning at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland. 

The year 2019 is the year of the Pig, the last of the zodiac animals. According to a story, the Pig was late because he overslept. Another story says that a wolf destroyed his house. He had to rebuild his home before he could set off. When he arrived, he was the last one and could only take twelfth place. The Pigs are considered successful later in life, and associated with the wealth and fortune.

BNCT and the Pig share their spirit; ever since the emergent idea of G. L. Locher in 1936 and the first clinical trials by W. H. Sweet at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1951, BNCT has been slowly, but patiently built to become a promising radiotherapy modality. I trust BNCT will also be successful soon, later in its life. Thanks to the bright and enthusiastic BNCT researchers worldwide with the common aim, to make BNCT one additional therapy modality for cancer patients in need.

This year, we also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the biennial YBNCT meetings. The YBNCT meetings have been a great success ever since the first meeting in Petten, Netherlands, in 1999.

On behalf of the organizing committee, I proudly invite you to Helsinki during the foliage season to hear the latest BNCT news, listen to talks of BNCT researchers, and to enjoy the discussions with our cheerful young at heart society members.

 

Hanna Koivunoro,

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of
the 10th Young Researchers’ BNCT Meeting