New Cancer Treatment: Radiopharmaceuticals

Summary

This video explores the advancements in cancer treatment, focusing on traditional therapies like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, which come with side effects. It highlights the emerging field of radiopharmaceuticals, a promising alternative that uses radioactive drugs to target cancer cells specifically, sparing healthy tissue. The video explains how targeted internal radionuclide therapy works and its potential to improve treatment outcomes, particularly for hard-to-treat cancers like metastatic prostate cancer. While these treatments are still in clinical trials, they offer hope for more effective, less invasive cancer therapies in the future.

Takeaways

• 😀 Over 200,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer annually, with 83,000 predicted deaths by the end of 2020.
• 😀 Conventional cancer treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy often have significant side effects, affecting both healthy and cancerous cells.
• 😀 Surgery involves removing cancerous tissue but can be challenging for tumors that are too large, small, or in hard-to-reach locations.
• 😀 Chemotherapy drugs target fast-growing cancer cells but also harm healthy cells, causing side effects like hair loss and nausea.
• 😀 External radiation therapy uses beams of radiation to target cancer cells, but it also affects nearby healthy cells, leading to side effects like skin issues.
• 😀 Radiopharmaceuticals are an emerging cancer treatment that uses radioactive drugs to target cancer cells specifically, minimizing harm to healthy cells.
• 😀 Radiation comes in three types: alpha particles (high energy, short travel distance), beta particles (moderate strength, longer travel), and gamma rays (longest travel distance, less strength).
• 😀 Radiopharmaceuticals can deliver radiation directly to cancer cells using drugs that attach to specific receptors on the cell surface, sparing healthy tissue.
• 😀 Targeted radionuclide therapy uses beta particles (e.g., Lutetium-177) for smaller tumors and alpha particles (e.g., Actinium-225) for very localized cancer cells.
• 😀 A clinical trial for stage 4 prostate cancer has shown promising results where radiopharmaceuticals helped shrink tumors throughout the body.
• 😀 Many radiopharmaceuticals are still in clinical trials or awaiting FDA approval, with some not yet available or covered by insurance in Canada.

Q & A

What is the projected cancer diagnosis and death rate for Canadians by the end of 2020?

By the end of 2020, over 200,000 Canadians were expected to be diagnosed with cancer, with a predicted 83,000 deaths.

What are the common side effects of traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and external radiation therapy?

Common side effects of traditional cancer treatments include nausea, loss of appetite, hair loss, and skin problems, as these treatments affect both cancerous and healthy cells.

How do chemotherapy drugs affect both cancer and healthy cells?

Chemotherapy drugs target cancer cells by slowing their growth and eventually killing them. However, these drugs cannot distinguish between cancer cells and rapidly dividing healthy cells, such as those in hair, which results in side effects.

What is the difference between alpha, beta, and gamma radiation?

Alpha particles are high in energy but cannot travel far; beta particles can travel further but with less strength, and gamma rays can travel the furthest but with the least energy, capable of passing through most materials, including the human body.

What are radiopharmaceuticals, and how do they work in cancer treatment?

Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive drugs designed to target specific cancer cells by attaching to receptors on the cell membrane. This targeted therapy delivers radiation directly to cancer cells, minimizing damage to healthy cells.

How does targeted internal radionuclide therapy work in treating prostate cancer?

In targeted internal radionuclide therapy, a radioactive drug is injected into the bloodstream, where it targets specific cancer cells, like those in prostate cancer, by binding to receptors on the cancer cells and delivering radiation directly to them.

What is the role of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in targeted cancer treatment?

PSMA is a receptor found on the surface of prostate cancer cells. By creating drugs that bind to this receptor, radiation can be delivered directly to prostate cancer cells, effectively treating the cancer while sparing healthy cells.

What are the advantages of radiopharmaceuticals over traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and external radiation?

Radiopharmaceuticals are more targeted, delivering radiation specifically to cancer cells and causing fewer side effects. They also require lower dosages than traditional therapies, reducing the impact on healthy cells.

Why are some radiopharmaceuticals still in clinical trials, and what challenges do they face?

Many radiopharmaceuticals are still undergoing clinical trials to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Challenges include the difficulty in producing these drugs on an industrial scale and the high costs, which are not always covered by insurance.

What is the survival rate for stage 4 prostate cancer, and how does radiopharmaceutical therapy help improve it?

Stage 4 prostate cancer has a survival rate of about 28.5 years. Radiopharmaceutical therapies can help by targeting and shrinking metastatic cancer cells, offering a potential treatment for cancers that are otherwise difficult to treat.