What is radium-223 therapy?
You may be offered radium-223 therapy if you have prostate cancer that’s spread (metastasised) to your bones.
The treatment can damage the cancer cells in the bone. That means they can shrink or even disappear altogether. It’s also used to reduce pain from bone cancer.
How does radium-223 therapy work?
Radium-223 is a radioactive form of the element radium. It releases alpha particles.
Radium-223 has similar chemical properties to calcium. It acts a bit like calcium in the body. Cancer cells in the bone take up more calcium than usual. The radium-223 travels directly to a tumour and gives out radiation that destroys the unhealthy cells. This makes radium-223 therapy a very effective and targeted treatment for bone cancers that minimises damage to your healthy cells.
Further information
The radiation used in radium-223 therapy has a high energy level. It only travels very short distances (between 2 and 10 cells in depth) but is very destructive. It damages the cancer cells in the bone, not the healthy cells nearby.
Like all cancer treatments, there are some potential side-effects, but these aren’t usually serious. They may include a temporary reduction in the number of blood cells your body produces. Sometimes you might have nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Your doctor will ask you about other treatments you’ve had for your prostate cancer, to avoid an increase in side-effects.
You’ll only be offered this treatment if you have prostate cancer that has spread to your bones.
Because it’s such a new therapy, there is limited research around using it to treat other types of cancer.
It’s currently only approved for treating patients with prostate cancer, although it may benefit other patients with bone metastases.
If your doctor thinks this therapy can help you, they’ll arrange for you to have a diagnostic scan known as a technetium-99m bone scan. This is to check that the radiation will target the right areas during treatment.
Your doctor will explain the procedure to you carefully and discuss any potentially harmful side-effects.
The radiation used in radium-223 therapy has a high energy level. It only travels very short distances (between 2 and 10 cells in depth) but is very destructive. It damages the cancer cells in the bone, not the healthy cells nearby.
Like all cancer treatments, there are some potential side-effects, but these aren’t usually serious. They may include a temporary reduction in the number of blood cells your body produces. Sometimes you might have nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Your doctor will ask you about other treatments you’ve had for your prostate cancer, to avoid an increase in side-effects.
You’ll only be offered this treatment if you have prostate cancer that has spread to your bones.
Because it’s such a new therapy, there is limited research around using it to treat other types of cancer.
It’s currently only approved for treating patients with prostate cancer, although it may benefit other patients with bone metastases.
If your doctor thinks this therapy can help you, they’ll arrange for you to have a diagnostic scan known as a technetium-99m bone scan. This is to check that the radiation will target the right areas during treatment.
Your doctor will explain the procedure to you carefully and discuss any potentially harmful side-effects.
