Chapters authored
Samarium-153 Therapy and Radiation Dose for Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most frequent malignancies in Western countries. At initial diagnosis, bone metastases are present in 15–30% of cases. These metastases cause some complications including bone fracture, hypercalcemia, and bone pain, which significantly affect patients’ quality of life. Radionuclide treatment was created as an alternative to external palliative radiotherapy in the treatment of bone pain arising from bone metastasis of PC. The basic principle of the radionuclide treatment of pain is that the uptake of radioactive material is kept in a high amount that is enough to constitute a proper clinical impact in the tumor, and it is kept at a low dose enough to avoid the occurrence of significant adverse effects in other organs (commonly in the bone marrow). Samarium-153 ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid (153Sm-EDTMP) is a radiopharmaceutical compound that has an affinity for skeletal tissue and concentrates in areas of increased bone turnover, localizes in the skeleton, and is excreted via glomerular filtration. Medical staff preparing and administering radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine, whether for diagnostic imaging or for therapeutic application, may receive significant radiation doses to their hands, particularly the fingers. Sm-153 treatment can be used as an effective and safe treatment alternative in the management of metastatic bone pain. Radiation protection of the public and the environment after Sm-153 EDTMP therapy is important.
Part of the book: Prostate Cancer