June 15, 2017
A team of Canadian researchers presented findings at the annual 2017 SNMMI conference on their work to tailor individualized care for patients suffering neuroendocrine tumors (NET). The research centered around targeted radiation delivery to avoid side effects and organ toxicity.
The Canadian project worked to aid survival by personalizing patient dose of peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT), as opposed to the current practice of administering the same dose to every patient. Based on his experience caring for patients with NET, the lead author saw an opportunity to customize the treatment.
“When we administer treatments in nuclear medicine, contrary to other drugs including chemotherapy and pills, we can see exactly where and how much of our treatment actually goes into organs and tumors by doing a few scans after the administration,” Dr. Jean-Mathieu Beauregard, assistant professor in the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Université Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, told HCB News.