Question:
Dear
Dr,
My friend
has lung tumor and has metastasized to bone and may be brain.
Dr has
suggested Intervention therapy to remove satellites cancers and Gamma
Seeds therapy.
Can you
please give me more details in gamma seeds therapy and what does it
actually mean by "Intervention therapy to remove satellites cancers"?
Thank
you very much in advance and hope to hear from you soon.
Best
regards.
Answer:
Radioactive
Seed Therapy it is a newer, minimally invasive approach to treating
high risk patients with Stage I non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC)
that may significantly reduce the risk of local disease recurrence.
Developed
at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in Pittsburgh over the past decade,
the procedure involves removing only the cancerous section of the
lung and enveloping the surgical site in a mesh material that is embedded
with radioactive seeds.
The seeds
emit a low dose of radiation over a prolonged period of time in an
effort to eradicate any remaining cancer cells.
The surgery
is a type of lumpectomy of the lung. Then surgeons zap the cancerous
spot with a more precise type of radiation that can kill any leftover
cancer cells without damaging the rest of the lung.
What
are commonly referred to as seeds are actually tiny metallic cylinders
made of titanium, 4.75mm by 0.75mm diameter. They contain a radioactive
material which is either Iodine 125 or Palladium 103 isotope.
Iodine
125 and Palladium 103 are man-made radioactive materials created through
the use of a machine known as a cyclotron. Once the radioactive material
has been created, it is encased in a titanium shell which is then
microscopically welded in order to completely retain the radioactive
source.
A satellite
cancer is a cancer that has spread from the primary tumor.
Interferon
gamma-1b as Therapy for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Gamma
Knife therapy is a treatment using gamma rays, a type of high-energy
radiation that can be tightly focused on small tumors.
Surgery
often can effectively remove bone cancer.
Surgery
to remove a benign brain tumor may resolve the problem without the
necessity of any further treatment.
