![]() ![]() Researchers are developing and testing new radiopharmaceutical therapies to treat additional cancers. Radiopharmaceutical therapy is currently used to treat metastatic prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, and well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors. ![]() This type of therapy offers promise as a vehicle for personalized cancer treatment because it can be tailored to the molecular properties of a specific tumor. When injected into the patient’s bloodstream, the radiopharmaceutical travels to and delivers radiation directly to or near disease sites, limiting radiation exposure to healthy tissue. Radiopharmaceutical therapy specifically targets cancer cells, limiting damage to healthy tissue. When the radiopharmaceutical binds to the target on the tumor cells, it brings the radiation directly to the tumor cells, no matter where they are located in the body, and treats the cancer. Radiopharmaceuticals typically consist of a radioactive atom (also known as a radionuclide) combined with a cell-targeting molecule that seeks cancer cells. Radiopharmaceutical therapy (also called molecular radiotherapy) involves targeting cancer cells with a radioactive drug (radiopharmaceutical). What is radiopharmaceutical therapy, and how does it work? New therapeutic agents for these patients are under development. Radiopharmaceutical therapies have long been used to alleviate pain in patients with metastatic prostate cancer, predominantly in patients with metastatic disease to bones. (For more information on imaging, see the Molecular Imaging and Prostate Cancer Fact Sheet). Imaging plays an important role in diagnosing and staging prostate cancer and monitoring patients for recurrent disease. ![]() Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in the United States, after skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 268,490 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2022 in the United States. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |