8 November 2021
It gives me immense pleasure to introduce the launch of our Radionuclide therapy webinars. The first of its kind in the United Kingdom, this project is a collaborative effort by three influential organisations to promote value-based educational material in an open-access format.
I would like to thank the British Institute of Radiology (BIR), the World Association of Radiopharmaceutical and Molecular Therapy (WARMTH), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for coming together to make this possible. This series aims to provide background information and current applications and discuss the advantages of radionuclide therapies in nuclear medicine.
There is extensive evidence to confirm the valuable role of radionuclide therapies in treating benign and malignant conditions. Currently, three types of particulate radiation are beta particles, alpha particles, and Auger electrons used in targeted radionuclide therapy. Radionuclide therapy is a targeted therapeutic approach in many types of cancer. Radionuclide therapies are delivered systemically or locally. The Therapeutic tailored approach required dedicated efforts from experts from multiple teams locally in the nuclear medicine departments (radiopharmacists, clinical physicists, nurses, nuclear medicine physicians, and technologists) and active participation in the multidisciplinary clinical meetings. Radionuclide therapies are currently used in the management of patients with thyroid cancer, prostate cancers, metastatic neuroendocrine tumour, bone metastases, unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastases, benign thyroid disease, arthritis etc.
In the current Radionuclide therapy webinar series, the lectures will systematically focus on the science and practice of radionuclide therapies. They will provide helpful information for teams planning to start radionuclide therapies and for the existing users as a refresher module.
Dr Gopinath Gnanasegaran, Consultant Physician in Nuclear Medicine, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and organiser of the BIR Radionuclide therapy Webinar Series
