Treatments that use the capabilities of nuclear medicine are growing in number. Because nuclear medicine employs medicines with a trace amount of radioactive material (called radiopharmaceuticals), doctors can use the technology to deliver medicines to specific locations and monitor if medications are producing hoped-for results. Sutter Roseville offers a wide and ever-expanding range of nuclear medicine therapies, including:

Thyroid Therapy – Patients with overactive thyroids (hyperthyroid), hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules or thyroid cancer are often treated with radioactive iodine (I-131) to destroy thyroid tissue. In the case of overactive nodules and thyroid glands, the radioactive iodine is used to eliminate the tissue that is producing too much thyroid hormone. The radioactive iodine procedure may also be done after thyroid cancer surgery to ensure no thyroid tissue remains. Nuclear scans following treatment for thyroid cancer can tell if the radioactive iodine goes to other parts of the body, which can help doctors determine if the thyroid cancer has spread.

Cancer Pain Management – Patients with cancer that has spread into the skeletal system may experience a great deal of pain. Sutter Roseville offers relief to these patients through pain control therapy using Samarium-153 or Strontium-89, radiopharmaceuticals injected into the bloodstream that travels to cancer lesions in the bones. This type of treatment is used for cancers that demonstrate increased (osteoblastic) bone formation in response to the tumor growth in the bone (examples: lung, breast and prostate cancer). The cancer lesions take up the Samarium-153 or Strontium-89 in far greater quantity than does regular bone tissue. The treatment typically lasts from three to six months. Up to 80 percent of patients treated experience pain reduction within 7 to 20 days after treatment. Treatment can be repeated at three-month intervals.

Medical research continues to find additional treatments using radiopharmaceuticals and Sutter Roseville remains committed to bringing new therapies to patients as they receive FDA approval. The physicians work closely with the Sutter Roseville oncologists to provide therapy targeted at particular types of cancer. The nuclear medicine staff is active in the Sutter Roseville Medical Center Tumor Board (case review) and Cancer Committee, which is designed to improve care for cancer patients in our community.

To find out more about thyroid therapy see thyroid cancer, hyperthyroidism, and radioactive iodine in our health information section.

Back to top.