Nuclear Oncology

The 131 is used as adjunctive therapy to surgery for thyroid cancer. When the patient was referred to nuclear medicine with a prescription for screening and treatment with 131 and has been involved, having removed the tumor and the pigeon thyroid.

The 131 completes the treatment to remove residual normal thyroid tissue or metastatic potential of tumor glands in the neck or the rest of the body, if any.

How is the 131?
The 131 is taken by mouth, usually in capsule form a standard size, like any other drug.

How does the 131?
The treatment uses a form of iodine (131I) which is radioactive. The thyroid gland accumulates iodine that enters the body with food and uses this iodine to perform its normal function, which is to form thyroid hormones.

Radioactive Iodine (131I) is also trapped by the thyroid. The radiation emitted by this form of iodine decreases the function of thyroid cells and inhibits their ability to grow to its destruction. This is the effect to be achieved with treatment.

It presents a review of the main applications of scintigraphy in oncology. We discuss the most important features of each application, with illustrations in this regard.

Special attention is given to more recent applications, developed in recent years, such as PET scan using FDG, sentinel node detection, and oncologic applications of radiopharmaceuticals such as 99mTc-sestamibi and 99mTc-MDP. Also mentioned are less used applications such as scintigraphic studies in brain and neuroendocrine tumors.

Brachytherapy, Variation of Radiation Dose as a Function of Tumor Aggressiveness

Brachytherapy is a way to treat prostate cancer that has two different application forms depending on the patient and carcinoma. This technique can be used exclusively or in combination with other regimes such as hormone therapy or radiotherapy. Dr. Benjamí Guix, Oncoradioterapéuta and medical director of the Foundation IMOR of Barcelona, said the different uses made of brachytherapy.

High Dose Brachytherapy
When it comes to high-dose radiation, we refer to as the amount of drug that is applied to patients with prostate cancer. The speed is higher and the time of application of the technique is less. What is done is to place a catheter, some radioactive sources in the treatment area. After making the relevant calculations of how it has to pass the radioactive source begins to supply the radiation. High-dose brachytherapy is recommended in prostate tumors in patients with intermediate or high risk, who are a little less aggressive than those at moderate risk. In these cases respond better to high dose rates by means of implants. We talked about patients who have a PSA over 10, a Gleason score of more than 7 and a palpable tumor.

Application Process
To keep the minimal side effects are usually done two implants. The first day will put the catheter and performs the first treatment session first thing in the morning. Thus, the early afternoon and can go home. After 2 weeks repeat the session. The anesthesia used is the local rate and the treatment is painless.

Low Dose Brachytherapy
Permanent brachytherapy seed implants with low radiation dose rate is reserved for cases where the PSA is less than 10, Gleason score less than 8 and the tumor is only microscopic range. The seed implant is very comfortable and with just a medical placement is achieved. The treatment is slow, as it stretches for 8 weeks in the patient’s body, and well tolerated. The results are great in patients with less aggressive tumors.

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Treating benign prostatic hyperplasia Green Laser, the New Revolution

The 180-watt green laser is a breakthrough as a technique to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. Among its highlights are benefits that can be applied on an outpatient basis, which increases comfort when treating this disease that affects very common to men over 50 years of age. Dr. Antonio Mandana, a prominent urologist and pioneer of the art in Catalonia, which are explained the benefits of using green laser in this condition.

Green Laser
The 180-watt green laser that makes the vaporization of the prostate through a particular instrument that passes through the urethra. The urethra is the tube from the bladder to the outside of the penis, through the prostate. For a working channel of the laser fiber is introduced and vaporized, looks and controls the area on which to proceed. In the case of benign prostate hyperplasia with green laser treatment is permanent. Patients younger than 55 who have been treated with other techniques can regenerate their problems after 10-15 years. But in patients over 60 years is unlikely to happen.

Benefits Compared to other lasers
The green laser brings many improvements over the lasers used so far, as for example the speed. Doubling the green laser can vaporize larger prostates in half the time. This means less operative time and less time to local heat. This will reduce post-operative discomfort that may arise.

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What is Nuclear Medicine?
Nuclear medicine is a variant of diagnostic imaging tests based on radioactive isotopes.

What are the applications in medicine determinations of radiation of radioisotopes in Nuclear Medicine?
There are many applications both in oncology and in other specialties and to have an idea of both the metabolism or activity of the radioisotope and the location thereof.

The key to Nuclear Medicine is to select the best for radioisotope uptake in the area of the body we want to measure, ie it is not what we want to know it is working particular brain area or an area of the heart has been afuncionante after infarction. Therefore, although the mechanics of the test is the same, both the isotopes and their interpretation by nuclear medicine physicians is not the same.

Do you run a risk with these substances in the body?
It is also important to note that radiation is produced in nuclear medicine tests is a very short half life so you do not usually endanger or the person performing the test or their families or significant others. If it is important for being pregnant, discuss with your doctor first who will inform about the risks of getting tested for Nuclear Medicine.

What is the most common in Nuclear Medicine?
The scan is the main test in nuclear medicine, and therefore treated as single theme in this set of issues about diagnostic tests.

What are isotopes?

Isotopes are variations of common chemicals (chlorine, sodium, technetium, etc.) Which varies the number of neutrons (a part of the chemical element).

These isotopes can be stable, ie not emit radiation or radioactive, ie, they emit radiation, this radiation can be electromagnetic radiation like gamma emissions of particles like alpha and beta.

The radioisotopes used in medicine are usually artificial and come from nuclear reactions.

Radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine and are selected so that, according to their characteristics follow a specific biochemical pathway, looking at different structures where, in connection with the issuance of its radiation can be detected.

Why are administered via radioisotopes?

The administration of these radiopharmaceuticals can be oral, intravenous, intracavitary (ie abdominal) but the most common form is the oral and intravenous.

This is a particularly suitable test to detect disease at musculoskeletal and central nervous system, although useful in numerous other malignancies.

Central nervous system
This technique is more sensitive than CT for detection of intracranial lesions. Similarly helps treatment planning, either surgery or radiation. It also helps to differentiate recurrent tumor lesions of secondary injury to treatment relapsed in the area.

Locomotor
The possibility of detecting bone lesions in adjacent structures (joints, ligaments, etc.). Has become the technique of choice when assessing the presence of lesions at this device and plan to conduct therapy. At cancer is the main diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of spinal cord compression, a nervous system secondary to abnormal bone and soft tissue to be treated as soon as possible to avoid definitive and significant neurological deficits.

Liver and biliary
Is more sensitive than other techniques for detecting metastatic lesions in the liver, just as used to differentiate benign lesions which are not.

Adrenal
Differentiating between adenomas and metastases, this is very important in certain types of tumors where adrenal involvement may be frequent and where know if it really is a metastasis or not, I mean the patient treatment and outcome variations.

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Batch immobilized papillomavirus vaccine
The Ministry of Health has ordered the temporary suspension of administration of a batch of Gardasil, a vaccine against human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer, after Valencia detected in the two possible cases of adverse effects two girls from Valencia, one of those affected have been transferred to the plant and the other remains in the ICU, where it is stable within the seriousness.

After a conference call convened by the Ministry of Health with all the Autonomous Communities, which reported the incident, was taken to temporarily suspend the administration of the lot NH52670 related to these reactions. Health services are evaluated from the last 6 the relationship between vaccination and adverse effects presented.

The research process has been developed with full coordination and collaboration between the departments of Public Health and the Ministry of Valencia, according to this related batch departamento.Del have 75,582 doses distributed in Spain. Of these, 21,300 have been acquired by public administrations to manage in the context of their immunization programs, 21,272 of them in the Valencia region, 20 in Madrid and eight in Extremadura. The rest was distributed through retail pharmacies to all women who are not included in the vaccination schedules, ie, in excess of 14 years.

As reported by the Public Health Directorate Extremadura, eight doses acquired by public administrations in the region have failed to divide and are immobilized. In addition, the inspection services are analyzing the pharmacy if a dose of the lot are retired. Overall, Spain has already distributed 1,146,458 doses of vaccine this brand, Gardasil, but until now has been referred to any red flag about the safety of this vaccine.

The laboratory Sanofi Pasteur MSD, the vaccine manufacturer, has ensured that the adverse effects detected in these two girls “are not causal but casual” and could have been caused by other factors yet to be determined, according to Europa Press said a spokesman for the company.

For its part, the Autonomous Communities will continue the process of vaccination against human papilloma virus normally, using different doses of the other lots involved in the two cases, as specified by the Ministry of Health.
Similarly, public health services will strengthen the epidemiological surveillance system in order to quickly detect any other related situation.

The Agency for Medicines and Health Products is analyzing these events to clarify the possible relationship that may exist between these cases and the vaccine.
The Agency is in contact with the network of European agencies and the European Medicines Agency, to keep them promptly informed of the progress of his analysis. This vaccine is licensed in all European Union countries.
Similarly, the Ministry, in coordination with the company producing the vaccine-related, has ordered the detention in pharmacy channel of all possible doses distributed in the lot as they complete the investigations referred to health authorities.

Quit smoking to avoid cancer in the future

Two studies reveal more benefits if you quit smoking. One of them, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ (PNAS), presents a new statistical model to predict mortality of men and women between 2004 and 2034. With this tool, the authors conclude that when leaving the snuff, the decline in the mortality rate is faster than previously thought.

Thus, taking into account the rate at which society is quitting smoking, estimate that by 2034, men between 50 and 85 years are 22.5% more likely to live than they had in 2004. This percentage drops to 7.4% in the case of females, who are less firm in making the decision to quit smoking.

The novelty is that the model takes into account the years he has been smoking the individual when they turn 40 instead of the number of cigarettes consumed. “The time it takes to smoke, rather than the intensity of smoking is a much more effective variable to predict the risk of death from lung cancer are smokers,” says study coordinator, Samuel Preston, University of Pennsylvania , United States.

The other study, published in the journal ‘Pediatrics’, identifies a new risk of snuff affects nonsmokers. This is the ‘third hand smoke’, a term that doctors have devised a Children’s Hospital Boston MassGeneral to refer to the harmful particles that remain in clothing and carpets, which are harmful, especially for children.

Parents who smoke often open windows or calm your craving for nicotine in rooms where children are not to avoid the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, also called “secondhand smoke”. However, they are not aware that in the cushions, carpets, clothes and even hair cigars are waste, including heavy metals, carcinogenic particles and other harmful materials.