Sensitization of proton therapy and deuteron therapy by using \(\text {Li}_3 \text {BO}_3\)

Though proton radiotherapy has developed rapidly in the field of tumour therapy due to the existence of Bragg peak, the damage to normal tissues during radiotherapy cannot be ignored. A scheme of using \( \text {Li}_3 \text {BO}_3 \) to enhance proton radiotherapy is proposed, and its sensitization principle is introduced in detail from the perspective of nuclear reaction and nuclear decay. Considering that the dose curve of deuteron is similar to that of proton and deuteron as a weakly bound nucleus will bring more nuclear reaction benefits to radiotherapy, this paper proposes a novel treatment plan for sensitization of deuteron therapy with \(\text {Li}_3 \text {BO}_3\). As a result, the existence of \(\text {Li}_3 \text {BO}_3\) increases the energy deposition of proton and deuteron therapy by 4.37% and 5.96%, respectively, which indicates that deuteron sensitization radiotherapy is a novel promising treatment option for cancer treatment.