An overview of Regional training course on therapeutic nuclear medicine

Regional training course on therapeutic nuclear medicine was held in Romania in 2002, in the organization of International Atomic Energy Agency. The program covered several topics from oncology, with great attention paid to the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer, lymphoma, inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, neuroendocrine tumors and bone pain caused by metastases. Usage of new radionuclides was also promoted with the aim to improve therapy with open sources of radioactivity. Particular attention was paid to the outcome of high and small dose of radioactive iodine (131I) for remnant ablation, to the use of recombinant human TSH in postoperative follow-up, and to radionuclide therapy for non-iodine concentrating thyroid cancers. A new radiopharmaceutical, 188Re (188rhenium)-lipiodol, already used to treat 30 patients, was promoted and pointed to developing of other radioagents for the cure of inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma. Because the treatment of lymphoma with radiolabeled antibodies was proved as successful it was noted that approach could become an important part of therapeutic nuclear medicine over the next couple of years. Targeting therapy for bone pain palliation was shown as relatively cheap and successful, but future possibilities should integrate the use of bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals at an earlier stage in patients at high risk for developing metastases to avoid their occurrence. This training course pointed out some new radiopharmaceuticals and radionuclides, which predict a further rapid development of therapeutic nuclear medicine and its deeper integration in protocols for the treatment of patients with malignant diseases.

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