![]() The body then attempts to repair this damage by replacing that bone-a process called bone turnover. When cancer cells grow in the bone, they cause the bone tissue they invade to break down. When ingested (as a pill or a liquid), it accumulates in and kills cancer cells left over after thyroid surgery.Ī similar natural affinity was later exploited to develop drugs to treat cancer that has spread to the bones, such as radium 223 dichloride (Xofigo), which was approved in 2013 to treat metastatic prostate cancer. A radioactive version of the element can be produced in the lab. Iodine naturally accumulates in thyroid cells. One such therapy, called radioactive iodine, has been used to treat some types of thyroid cancer since the 1940s. Building on a Natural Affinityĭelivering radiation directly to cells isn’t itself a new approach. “I think they’re going to transform radiation oncology in the next 10 to 15 years,” Dr. These studies have suggested that targeting radiation therapy at the cellular level has the potential to reduce the risk of both short- and long-term side effects of treatment while at the same time enabling even tiny deposits of cancer cells to be killed throughout the body. The last several years have seen an explosion of research and clinical trials testing new radiopharmaceuticals. Now, researchers are developing a new class of drugs called radiopharmaceuticals, which deliver radiation therapy directly and specifically to cancer cells. The resulting side effects of radiation therapy depend on the area of the body treated but can include loss of taste, skin changes, hair loss, diarrhea, and sexual problems. Even with modern radiation therapy equipment, “you have to normal tissue to get to a tumor,” said Charles Kunos, M.D., Ph.D., of NCI’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). Though effective, external radiation can also cause collateral damage. ![]() And until recently, most radiation therapy was given much as it was 100 years ago, by delivering beams of radiation from outside the body to kill tumors inside the body. About half of all cancer patients still receive it at some point during their treatment. Radiation therapy was first used to treat cancer more than 100 years ago. But long-used treatments - surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy - remain the backbone of treatment for most cancers. Immunotherapies stimulate or suppress the body’s immune system to help fight cancer. Targeted therapies shut down specific proteins in cancer cells that help them grow, divide, and spread. The past two decades have brought a sea change in the way many types of cancer are treated. Read more about Radiopharmaceuticals: Radiation Therapy Enters the Molecular Age.
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