NUCLEAR MEDICINE
HISTORY
In 1949, British professor David Smithers first used the radioactive isotope of iodine 131 to treat thyroid carcinoma. The patient was completely cured. Iodine 131 is still actively used to treat the thyroid gland. This event became one of the significant milestones in the development of nuclear medicine.
Nuclear
Medicine
todayNOWADAYS NUCLEAR MEDICINE IS A BRANCH OF CLINICAL MEDICINE THAT DEALS WITH THE USE OF RADIONUCLIDE PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS - RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS - IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT.
This branch of medicine is developing in the direction of research in the field of cardiology and cancer.
There are various technologies to produce radiopharmaceuticals. The main component of any radiopharmaceutical is a radioactive isotope, which can be produced by irradiating a special target in a reactor or in particle accelerators such as cyclotrons. In medical institutions, both cyclotrons and linear particle accelerators are used.
THE LIST OF RADIOISOTOPES, WHICH ARE PRESENT IN THE MOST USED RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE
Iodine isotopes
I-123, I-131
Diagnosis of the thyroid gland and the nervous system of the heart, treatment of thyroid cancer, treatment of hyperthyroidism
Fluorine isotope
F18
In diagnosis, visualization of tumors of various localizations, assessment of glucose metabolism in the myocardium, lungs, brain, diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, diagnosis of diffuse Lewy bodies disease, diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, localization of the epileptic focus
Lutetium isotope
Lu-117
In the treatment of hormone-resistant advanced prostate cancer
Radium isotope
Ra-223
For prostate cancer patients with hormone-resistant bone metastases at a late stage
Gallium isotope
Ga-68
Imaging in neuroendocrine tumors, prostate cancer
DIAGNOSIS
In order to diagnose diseases, the methods of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (also known as two-photon emission tomography), combined with computed tomography (PET / CT), are used. This technology allows the formation of 3D images, unlike scintigraphy, which uses the same principle of creating gamma photons, but creates only a two-dimensional projection.
Radionuclide therapy
Radionuclide therapy is one of the most common treatments. It is recommended for use by approximately 70% of patients who have been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor.
If cancer is diagnosed at stage I or II, the effectiveness of treatment reaches 90-95%.
During radionuclide therapy, a substance containing radioactive isotopes is injected into the patient's body, which are targeted to the specific organ or part of the body and accumulate in the tumor tissue and disrupts and destroys tumor cells.
Radiation therapy
PROTON THERAPY IS A TYPE OF RADIATION THERAPY.
Proton therapy uses proton beams to disrupt and destroy tumor cells.
Thanks to the physical properties of proton beams, proton therapy is attracting attention as a highly effective method, characterized by a low burden on the body and a minimum number of side effects.