Targeted Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer: PSMA Therapy With Lutetium-177
By Space Coast Daily // October 30, 2019
Prostate cancer takes first place among the most commonly diagnosed malignancies among men of the Western world. Advanced prostate cancer with metastases in bones and distant organs requires targeted therapy that will spare healthy organs.
177Lutetium-PSMA radioligand therapy is a targeted systemic treatment option for metastatic castration-resistant tumors.
Early clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of Lutetium-177 have demonstrated outstanding results: a significant part of men with metastatic tumors, who have already failed other treatments, have responded clinically to this method.
Conventional treatment of prostate malignancies
The most efficient treatment scheme is elaborated for each patient individually, depending on the cancer stage, age and general health state of a patient. In Germany, university hospitals and private healthcare institutions offer the full range of conventional treatments:
- Prostatectomy and other forms of surgical treatment. Prostatectomy is the only radical therapeutic option. Tumors of the small size may be removed completely, by means of robotic or endoscopic techniques. At more advanced disease stages a surgeon also removes lymph nodes and resects the intestine.
- Pharmacotherapy includes courses of chemotherapeutic and androgen deprivation drugs. There are few types of treatment schemes that include androgen deprivation monotherapy, combined androgen blockade, intermittent androgen deprivation, etc.
- Radiation therapy includes both the implantation of internal radioactive “seeds” and external irradiation.
The medical team that elaborates on the treatment scheme typically includes a urologist, oncologist, surgeon, and rehabilitation specialist.
Therapy with medical radionuclides
Treatment with Lutetium-177 is highly targeted as this molecule is able to accumulate selectively in tumor cells and metastases, including pathogenic loci in bones. After fixation in the target area Lutetium-177 irradiates malignant cells with beta particles and, thus, destroys.
Precision of the therapy is achieved due to the connection of Lutetium-177 to the protein PSMA-617. The molecule of PSMA-617 is the unique carrier that was discovered by scientists from the University Hospital Heidelberg. PSMA-617 recognizes atypical prostate cells regardless their location and binds to them reliably.
PSMA therapy with Lutetium-177 is the inpatient procedure, as it is performed according to the strict requirements of the radiation protection. A patient typically stays in the clinic during 3-4 days. After the procedure completion, control PSA blood test, scintigraphy and MRI are performed for the early result estimation.
Undergoing prostate cancer treatment in Germany
PSMA therapy with Lutetium-177 is performed only in the urological clinics, as this medication is prepared for the patient individually.
Specialists from Booking Health are ready to facilitate undergoing treatment abroad for patients from over 70 countries.
Booking Health is the certified medical tourism operator (certificate ISO 9001:2015) that offers:
- Choosing the best healthcare facility for therapy performing.
- Planning the diagnostics and therapeutic course, booking the appointment.
- Providing favorable cost of treatment, excluding additional fees.
- Additional monitoring of the therapeutic process.
- Communication with the physician and hospital after the program completion.
- Receiving medical reports and translating them into your native language.
- Arrangement of follow-up blood tests and PSMA PET-CT.
- Control of final calculation, return of unspent funds.
- Non-medical services of the highest level: booking tickets and accommodation, services of interpreter, transfer.
Describe your medical problem in the “Send request” form on the https://bookinghealth.com/, and a specialist will contact you the same day.
