Radioisotopes for Cancer Treatment

Diagnosis of cancer is seen by some as a guaranteed appointment with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, if not eventual death. Therefore, the last thing a recipient of that kind of news wants to hear is that a successful treatment might be available, but it is in limited supply in America. Radioactive isotopes or "smart bullets" as they are sometimes referred to, are able to go directly to the internal cancer and start work. That's why the European community is being discouraged from using chemotherapy in favor of this more precise cancer treatment, effectively eradicating many fatal cancers overseas.

Radiation treatment history

Cancer was originally, and is still, treated with another type of radiation: radiotherapy. This is an external radiation that consists of high-energy waves or particles (radiation) that creates a type of beam which is directed at the cancer site in the body. This beam is positioned from outside the body. Cancer patients sit or lay beneath the beam's ray for a designated period of time for treatment purposes. Although treatment is geared to destroy diseased cells in the body, it also destroys some healthy ones too, one of the major drawbacks of this type of treatment.

Delivery of radioactive isotopes

Now, thanks to technological advances, radiation (in the form of radioactive isotopes) can be delivered directly to the cancer site inside the body rather than relying on an external beam to penetrate the body and the cancer. And, in addition, it offers a more precise administration of the radiation, which can eliminate the potential for damage to healthy cells and tissue in the body. The medical radioactive isotope is used in small quantities, enabling it to be administered into the body through implantation, injection, or introduced into the body through a carrier rather than through an external beam. The delivery means chosen by your doctor will be based upon the type of cancer you have, as the type of cancer dictates which delivery vehicle is best.

Types of radioactive isotope treatments

Bracytherapy (treatment of types of tumors found in prostate and liver cancers) best utilizes tiny radioactive isotope seeds which contain short-lived radiation. In Radioimmunotherapy (treatment of types of blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma) the radioactive isotopes are attached to monoclonal antibodies much like a backpack and then the combination is injected into the body. And finally, a third radioactive isotope treatment option combines the radioactive isotope with a carrier. The carrier used is one that is automatically drawn to a particular part of the body which is affected by the cancer. For example, chemical phosponates (a bone building block) is one such carrier used. It is combined with the radioactive isotope to treat bone cancers because it is automatically drawn to attach itself to the bone upon entrance into the body anyway, making it a natural choice to get the radioactive isotope to the affected area immediately upon entrance into the body. Another carrier, iodine, is used when the cancer is in the thyroid--for the same reason.

Considerations

Radioactive isotopes are produced in nuclear reactors or accelerators. Only ten percent of medically used radioactive isotopes used in America are actually produced here in the United States. The other 90 percent we use must be imported from other countries, creating a hardship on our medical community who desire to meet growing demand--as well as participate in research activities that might aid in further advances in this field (for both cancers and other disease treatments).

Additional benefit

Another benefit of radioactive isotopes is its ability to aid doctors in making an earlier and a more thorough diagnosis of cancer. When a tiny amount of the radioactive substance is introduced in some way into the patient's body, it can be detected by a special machine (through the energy it gives off) as it travels through the body. This allows the doctor to track the movement and final location of the isotope, more accurately pinpointing the exact area infected than with the x-ray methods used before.