Health
Lutetium-177 PSMA Therapy
Prostate cancer is a common disease that affects men. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a protein that’s found on the surface of prostate cancer cells. Lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy is an effective treatment for men with prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body or who can’t be treated with surgery or radiation therapy.
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What is Lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy?
- 177Lu-PSMA therapy is a type of nuclear medicine procedure that uses the isotope Lutetium-177 (177Lu) to kill prostate cancer cells.
- PSMA stands for prostate specific membrane antigen, a protein on the surface of most prostate cancer cells.
- PSMA is not found on any other type of cell in your body, but it can be detected by special imaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
What is lutetium-177?
Lutetium-177 is a radioactive element that’s used in 177Lu-PSMA therapy. It’s also used in nuclear medicine, but unlike with the therapy, it doesn’t stay in your body for long.
In both cases, lutetium-177 is injected into you as a liquid that contains other chemicals that are removed from the mixture so that only lutetium-177 remains.
What is PSMA?
The prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a protein found on the surface of prostate cancer cells. It’s not found on normal cells, and it’s more common in prostate cancer cells than it is in normal tissue.
In most cases, PSMA is present in very low levels in healthy men and their blood. However, research shows that PSMA levels increase significantly in prostate tumors.
How does lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy treat prostate cancer?
Lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy is a new way of treating prostate cancer that uses a radioactive isotope. The 177Lu is injected into the body and then binds to PSMA in the prostate cancer cells. This kills the cancer cells by disrupting their DNA, causing cell death.
In addition to destroying tumor cells, 177Lu delivers a strong message to your immune system: “There’s something here! Attack this tumor!” That message can help turn up your body’s defenses—particularly if you have low levels of an immune stimulant called interleukin-2 (IL-2).
Is lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy appropriate for all men with prostate cancer?
If you are considering lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy, it’s important to understand that not all men with prostate cancer are eligible.
- You must have a PSMA-positive tumor. This means that your prostate cancer is detectable by the presence of a protein called prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA). This protein is expressed on cancer cells and some normal cells; however, only tumors will have excess levels of PSMA.
- You must have a life expectancy of at least 3 months. If your doctor expects you to live less than three months without standard treatment for your disease, then lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy won’t be appropriate for you.
- You must not be pregnant or breastfeeding at the time of treatment with lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy
Takeaway:
- Lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy is a treatment for prostate cancer that uses lutetium-177 as the radioactive source.
- Lutetium is a metal that’s naturally present in soil and rocks. It’s used to make the generator needed for this treatment because it decays by emitting an energetic ion beam of electrons (called “beta particles”) that are highly penetrating, but have no electrical charge and can pass through tissues without damaging them.
- PSMA is an antigen found on prostate cells and not on healthy cells; by targeting this antigen during treatment, you can be sure that only your cancerous tumors will be killed off by the radiation exposure—not anything else in your body!
Conclusion
We hope that this blog post has given you a better understanding of lutetium-177 (177Lu, Lu-177) PSMA therapy. If you have any questions or concerns about prostate cancer treatment options, please contact us at (855) 872-5200 or visit our website for more information.
