Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
can be used instead of the higher energy radiation used in external beam
methods.
Based on animal experiments and the results from treating patients
with inoperable liver cancer (HCC), there is reason to believe that
radioactive glass microspheres can also be used to destroy malignant
tumors in other organs such as the kidney, brain, breast, prostate, and
pancreas. It is conceivable that glass microspheres can be engineered to
function as long-term drug delivery vehicles in combination with
in situ
irradiation therapy. In other medical applications, it might be desirable
to implant fibers of a radioactive glass in a particular geometric pattern
in the organ so that the organ is irradiated from a series of line sources
instead of from point sources, microspheres.
In summary,
90
YAS glass microspheres offer a safe and reliable way of
delivering unusually large doses of beta radiation to malignant tumors in
the liver with minimum side effects. The procedure of
in situ
irradiation
has extended the life expectancy of patients with inoperable liver cancer
(HCC), with some patients surviving more than five years since treatment
with the radioactive glass microspheres.
REFERENCES
[1] Ehrhardt, G.J. and Day, D.E. (1987) Therapeutic use of yttrium-90.
Nuclear
Medicine and Biology International Journal of Radiation Applications and Instru-
mentation Part B
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, 233-242.
[2] Houle, S., Yip, T.K., Shepherd, F.A.
et al
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[3] Shepherd, F.A., Rotstein, L.E., Yip, T.K.
et al
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of yttrium-90 microspheres in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma.
Cancer
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[4] White, J.E. and Day, D.E. (1994) Rare earth aluminosilicate glasses for in vivo
radiation delivery.
Key Engineering Materials
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[5] Day, D.E. and Day, T.E. (1993) Radiotherapy glasses. In
An Introduction to Bio-
ceramics
, Advanced Series in Ceramics (eds L.L. Hench and J. Wilson). Singapore:
World Scientific, pp. 305-317.
[6] Erbe, E.M. and Day, D.E. (1993) Chemical durability of Y
2
O
3
-Al
2
O
3
-SiO
2
glasses
for the in-vivo delivery of beta radiation.
Journal of Biomedical Materials Research
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27
, 1301-1308.
[7] McIntyre, D.S. and Day, D.E. (1998) Ho
2
O
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-Al
2
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radiotherapy.
Physics and Chemistry of Glasses
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[8] Shelby, J.E. (1994) Rare elements in glasses.
Key Engineering Materials
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[9] Conzone, S.D., Brown, R.F., Day, D.E., and Ehrhardt, G.J. (2002) In vitro and
in vivo dissolution behavior of a dysprosium lithium borate glass designed for the
radiation synovectomy treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Journal of Biomedical
Materials Research
,
60
, 260-268.
