Download Fight against cancer: EU research develops cancer killing isotopes

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Brussels, 26 June 2002
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One of the key targets of the European Commission’s Sixth Framework programme
for Research and Development (2003-2006) is "Combating cancer". Altogether just
over ¼ELOOLRQLVHDUPDUNHGIRUFRPEDWLQJPDMRUGLVHDVHVRIZKLFKDWOHDVW¼
million should go to cancer research. The objective is to develop better strategies,
from prevention to diagnosis and treatment, for fighting cancer. EU research will
concentrate on translating the new knowledge being created by genomics and other
fields of basic research into applications that improve clinical practice and public
health.
As far as research on cancer-killing isotopes is concerned, currently only two
organisations world-wide are able to produce such isotopes: the European
Commission’s Institute for Transuranium Elements (a branch of the JRC) and the
Oak Ridge National Laboratories in the US.
Both the recent results obtained in clinical studies, using bismuth-213 to combat
acute myeloid leukaemia, and the first evaluations of the direct use of actinium-225,
point to the right direction. Whereas the first isotope emits only one alpha particle
during its decay, the latter has a decay chain with 4 alpha particles and could be
much more efficient, at least when its full potential can be exploited. At the highest
dosage level used (up to100 mCi bismuth-213), no acute toxicity was observed. This
breakthrough opens the way for accepting the analyses of other alpha-emitters in a
clinical setting also.
The Commission has supported pioneering work at the Deutsches
Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) and the Kantonspital of Basel, where the first
patients were treated for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and glioblastoma respectively.
To date, 37 patients in the US have been treated with bismuth 213 or astatine 211
and 11 patients in Europe.
Other very promising studies on treating melanoma using local antibody conjugated
bismuth-213 injection foster scientific understanding and several hypotheses on the
operating mechanisms of alpha-damage can therefore be validated. As the use of
highly radiotoxic alpha-emitting isotopes is not currently common practice in
hospitals, strict requirements need to be respected to allow the large-scale
application of this technology.
State-of-the art genomics and proteomics are expected to provide a sound
understanding of the governing processes in the application of alpha-emitters and
other radioactive isotopes. Such details will help not only in combating cancer, but
also in understanding how low-level radiation exposure effects the human genetic
makeup. The hope is to produce a patient-tailored drug and/or therapy design in the
future, through studying the specific features of particular diseases and their genetic
expression.
For further information, please visit
http://itu.jrc.cec.eu.int/
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