Radiotherapy, metals used

It has been demonstrated that monoclonal antibodies may be chemically modified by reaction with metal chelates without loss of antibody activity or specificity. A radionuclide generator has been made to provide a source for Bi-212 to be used for attachment of bismuth chelates to antibody. Such antibody-metal-chelate conjugates appear to be stable in vivo and may provide a new method for radiotherapy. 

Radium Radium, the heaviest of the group 2A elements, occurs with uranium and was isolated as its chloride salt from the mineral pitchblende by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Radium is highly radioactive, and no more than a few kilograms of the pure metal have ever been produced. Though used for many years as a radiation source for cancer radiotherapy, better sources are now available, and there are no longer any commercial uses for radium. 

Some selected metallic radionuclides useful for radiotherapy are shown in Table 1. In general, identifying the most appropriate isotope for radiotherapy is often a difficult task and requires balancing a variety of factors. These include tumor uptake and retention of the radiolabeled BFC-biomolecule (BM)... 

In summary, the comparative studies performed to date suggest that metallic stents provide better pal-Kation than radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and laser therapy. Two out of the three trials comparing metallic stents with plastic stents showed similar improvement in dysphagia in the two groups. However, both Knyrim s and De Palma s studies are relatively out of date, in that they used previous versions of esophageal metallic stents. Whether results of a trial comparing currently available esophageal metallic stents with plastic stents would produce different results in favor of metallic stents remains to be seen. Finally, all trials have shown that the complication rates of metallic stents are lower than those of plastic stents. 

The use of metals in medicine is as old as recorded human history (I). Modem successes span from what was arguably the first medicinal chemistry screening campaign by Paul Erlich to the recent development of sophisticated bioimaging agents. The therapeutic applications of metal-based drugs span virtually every disease area anticancer (Al, Ga, In, Ti, Ru, Pt, Au, Sn) antimicrobial (As, Cu, Zn, Ag, Hg, Bi) antiarthritic (Au) antipsychotic (Li) antihypertensive (Fe, Zn) antiviral (Li, Pt, Au, W, Cu) antiulcer (Bi) antacids (Al, Na, Mg, Ca) metalloenzyme mimetics (Mn, Cu, Fe) radiotherapy (e.g. Re,... 

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