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TAT-11: Alpha DaRT: Revolutionary Alpha-Emitters Brachytherapy

Ottawa, ON, Canada (UroToday.com) One of the first medical uses of radium was the injection of radium-coated needles into patients. In an interesting example of the adage “everything old is new again”, Dr. Arazi described a new device where radium is implanted on the surface of a metal needle. The radium224 comes from a Thorium source and a voltage is applied to the needle so that the radium released from thorium decays is guided to the needle surface by an electric field.

The needle is heated to drive the radium into a coating that holds its place. In therapy, the needle is inserted directly into a tumor using a tumor-specific sleeve device. Once in place, when the radium decays, alpha and the alpha-emitting daughters are released into the tumor to deliver the cytotoxic effects. In the  Rs224 decay chain, Pb212 has a long half-life (10.6 hrs.) and can leave the tumor site although no serious side effects have been observed. The device is most useful in easily accessible surface tumors like skin cancer. After treatment, the needle is easily removed. In a clinical study the first 15 patients who completed follow-up, all showed positive results, and 75% complete response. From a regulatory perspective, Alpha DaRT is considered a medical device and not a drug.

Presented by: Dr. LIor Arazi, Nuclear Engineering Unit, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Ben-Gurion University

Written by: William Carithers, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the 11th International Symposium on Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT-10)  April 1 - April 4, 2019 - Ottawa, ON, Canada