The image was part of research conducted by Stanford University Medical Center involving 71 patients with relapsed or refractory NHL. About 70 percent of patients treated with either Bexxar or Zevalin showed positive responses to treatment and about one third of patients showed no signs of the disease after treatment.

Another $1.5 billion study is promoting research for pre-targeted radioimmunotherapy, which has the potential to improve therapeutic response and reduce hematopoietic toxicity (bone marrow damage) compared to immunotherapy alone.


Skin cancer patch

A skin patch has been shown to successfully treat basal cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer that forms in the epidermis. The patch is custom-designed to fit over the skin lesion. The patch is sealed and non-toxic, administering radioactive phosphorous-32 that delivers beta radiation to the cancer cells. There is no sign of toxicity or external radiation hazard. The study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbia, followed eight patients who elected to wear the patch instead of opting for surgery or radiotherapy. After sequential applications, each for three-hour lengths of time, biopsies of all patients' skin cancer sites showed no sign of malignant cancer.

Potential cure for hard-to-treat prostate cancer

About 186,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. A recent preclinical study revealed a new treatment for recurrent prostate cancer that targets and kills cancer cells with little damage to surrounding tissues. The alpha-particle emitting radiopeptide eradicated prostate cancer tumors in 70 percent of mice in a study conducted by the University of Basel, Switzerland. The treatment showed greater efficacy than similar treatments using beta-particle emitting radiopeptides. Researchers believe the therapy could provide effective treatment for other forms of cancer, as well, most notably breast cancer, said Dr. Peter S. Conti, former president of SNM and professor of radiology, clinical pharmacy, and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California's Keck Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy and Engineering.

"This is a rather dramatic presentation of a response in an animal, in this particular case bearing a tumor before therapy and after therapy complete resolution of the cancer following treatment with 213-Bismuth," Dr. Conti said.

Motion-frozen hearts for better PET imaging

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