A new technique which uses radioactive isotopes may provide a ray of hope to cancer patients.
According to a report in the Telegraph, the “radioactive bullet” therapy has found success in Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment.Around 1,600 people develop Hodgkin’s lymphoma every year.Hodgkin’s lymphoma — formerly known as Hodgkin’s disease — is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of your immune system.cells in the lymphatic system grow abnormally and may spread beyond the lymphatic system. As Hodgkin’s lymphoma progresses, it compromises your body’s ability to fight infection.
It has a high cure rate, causing around 300 deaths a year, but some cases fail to respond to treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
In an experiment conducted at Cancer Research UK’s Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre at University College London, it was found that two-thirds of patients responded to the programme.
Called CHT25, the therapy uses an antibody that targets tumour-like cells linked to a radioactive particle.The antibody delivers the radioactive isotope to sites of disease in the body where it selectively kills lymphoma cells. Tumours remain exposed to radioactivity for at least four days, but there is little damage to healthy cells. Scientists are now planning a bigger Phase II trial with larger numbers of patients after the results were published in the jrounal Clinical Cancer Research
Professor Richard Begent, one of those involved in the research, said initial results were “very encouraging”.
He added: “There is an urgent need for new treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma because a number of patients develop drug resistance to the therapy options already out there.”
The scientist is head of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, which is one of a network of similar facilities created by Cancer Research UK and the Departments of Health in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.