GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Swedish researchers used "seek and destroy" radioactive substances that target cancer to treat ovarian cancer.
The initial study of the highly targeted treatment in patients, published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, was conducted jointly by the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
The patient was injected with a radioactive isotope bound to carrier molecules that bind to structures on the surface of tumor cells, where the isotope emits alpha particles with such a short range that only the very nearest tumor cells' DNA is destroyed. The injection is administered straight into the abdominal cavity.
"Our research team has long hoped to be able to target radiotherapy in this way," study co-leader Hakan Andersson of Sahlgrenska University Hospital said in a statement. "There is a good chance of this treatment working, as the study indicates that a sufficient amount of the active substance reaches the tumor cells in the abdominal cavity without any measurable side-effects."
