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Comparative analysis of 11 different radioisotopes for palliative treatment of bone metastases by computational methods
Author(s) -
Guerra Liberal Francisco D. C.,
Tavares Adriana Alexandre S.,
Tavares João Manuel R. S.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.4897240
Subject(s) - nuclear medicine , radionuclide therapy , medicine , dosimetry , radiochemistry , chemistry
Purpose: Throughout the years, the palliative treatment of bone metastases using bone seeking radiotracers has been part of the therapeutic resources used in oncology, but the choice of which bone seeking agent to use is not consensual across sites and limited data are available comparing the characteristics of each radioisotope. Computational simulation is a simple and practical method to study and to compare a variety of radioisotopes for different medical applications, including the palliative treatment of bone metastases. This study aims to evaluate and compare 11 different radioisotopes currently in use or under research for the palliative treatment of bone metastases using computational methods. Methods: Computational models were used to estimate the percentage of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage (fast Monte Carlo damage algorithm), the probability of correct DNA repair (Monte Carlo excision repair algorithm), and the radiation‐induced cellular effects (virtual cell radiobiology algorithm) post‐irradiation with selected particles emitted by phosphorus‐32 ( 32 P), strontium‐89 ( 89 Sr), yttrium‐90 ( 90 Y), tin‐117 ( 117m Sn), samarium‐153 ( 153 Sm), holmium‐166 ( 166 Ho), thulium‐170 ( 170 Tm), lutetium‐177 ( 177 Lu), rhenium‐186 ( 186 Re), rhenium‐188 ( 188 Re), and radium‐223 ( 223 Ra). Results: 223 Ra alpha particles, 177 Lu beta minus particles, and 170 Tm beta minus particles induced the highest cell death of all investigated particles and radioisotopes. The cell survival fraction measured post‐irradiation with beta minus particles emitted by 89 Sr and 153 Sm, two of the most frequently used radionuclides in the palliative treatment of bone metastases in clinical routine practice, was higher than 177 Lu beta minus particles and 223 Ra alpha particles. Conclusions: 223 Ra and 177 Lu hold the highest potential for palliative treatment of bone metastases of all radioisotopes compared in this study. Data reported here may prompt future in vitro and in vivo experiments comparing different radionuclides for palliative treatment of bone metastases, raise the need for the careful rethinking of the current widespread clinical use of 89 Sr and 153 Sm, and perhaps strengthen the use of 223 Ra and 177 Lu in the palliative treatment of bone metastases.