04 Apr 2009 05:00 AM
Researchers Harness Radioactivity For New Cancer Treatments
Medical researchers from the University of Alberta are pushing the boundaries of nuclear medicine. They are finding new ways to harness technology, new knowledge about the nature of cancer and the radioactive nature of elements to learn more about how cancer affects individual patients and improve their treatments.
X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs give two- or three-dimensional views of body structures, allowing doctors to see inside patients to identify structural abnormalities caused by disease. On the other hand, nuclear medicine uses safe radioactive materials to create images of body functions at the molecular level, particularly in patients with cancer.
The newest imaging technology combines PET scans (positron emission tomography) with CAT scans to provide a 3D "map" of metabolic activity in cells the basic process by which cells transform glucose into energy. This diagnostic tool called molecular imaging is especially valuable in pinpointing tumours very early, for conducting cancer research into the effects of cancer on the body, and for selecting the right treatment for the right patient at the right time.
The PET Centre at Edmonton's Cross Cancer Institute is operated by the U of A and Alberta Health Services. It is the leading centre in Canada in the research and application of molecular imaging for cancer. Several principal investigators from the U of A's Oncologic Imaging Division in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry are carrying out cutting-edge discovery research at the Cross to advance the science of nuclear medicine.
These academic clinicians and scientists are also involved in many different studies using molecular imaging to "see" and learn about the behaviour of various kinds of tumour cells, and how the cells respond to experimental chemotherapy drugs and/or radiation treatments.
"We think we can use molecular imaging to predict how a tumour is going to behave and how a patient is going to respond to a course of treatment, and learn very early if the treatment is working or if it should be changed," says Dr…
X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs give two- or three-dimensional views of body structures, allowing doctors to see inside patients to identify structural abnormalities caused by disease. On the other hand, nuclear medicine uses safe radioactive materials to create images of body functions at the molecular level, particularly in patients with cancer.
The newest imaging technology combines PET scans (positron emission tomography) with CAT scans to provide a 3D "map" of metabolic activity in cells the basic process by which cells transform glucose into energy. This diagnostic tool called molecular imaging is especially valuable in pinpointing tumours very early, for conducting cancer research into the effects of cancer on the body, and for selecting the right treatment for the right patient at the right time.
The PET Centre at Edmonton's Cross Cancer Institute is operated by the U of A and Alberta Health Services. It is the leading centre in Canada in the research and application of molecular imaging for cancer. Several principal investigators from the U of A's Oncologic Imaging Division in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry are carrying out cutting-edge discovery research at the Cross to advance the science of nuclear medicine.
These academic clinicians and scientists are also involved in many different studies using molecular imaging to "see" and learn about the behaviour of various kinds of tumour cells, and how the cells respond to experimental chemotherapy drugs and/or radiation treatments.
"We think we can use molecular imaging to predict how a tumour is going to behave and how a patient is going to respond to a course of treatment, and learn very early if the treatment is working or if it should be changed," says Dr…
