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Iodine-131 (131 I) is the most common RNT worldwide and uses the simple compound sodium iodide with a radioactive isotope of iodine. The patient (human or animal) may ingest an oral solid or liquid amount or receive an intravenous injection of a solution of the compound. The iodide ion is selectively taken up by the thyroid gland.
Often called the father of nuclear medicine, Lawrence treated a leukemia patient with radiophosphorus, which was the first time a radioactive isotope has been used to treat human patients. [4] Another pioneer in the field, Sam Seidlin, in partnership with Saul Hertz, treated a case of thyroid cancer with radioactive iodine (I-131) 1946. [5]
Radioactive iodine (iodine-131) alone can potentially worsen thyrotoxicosis in the first few days after treatment. One side effect of treatment is an initial period of a few days of increased hyperthyroid symptoms. This occurs because when the radioactive iodine destroys the thyroid cells, they can release thyroid hormone into the blood stream.
Theranostics originated in the field of nuclear medicine; iodine isotope 131 for the diagnostic study and treatment of thyroid cancer was one of its earliest applications. [7] Nuclear medicine encompasses various substances, either alone or in combination, that can be used for diagnostic imaging and targeted therapy.
Contrast CT of a patient with brain metastases from breast cancer, before (left) and after (right) injection of iodinated contrast.. Iodinated contrast is a form of water-soluble, intravenous radiocontrast agent containing iodine, which enhances the visibility of vascular structures and organs during radiographic procedures.
Unlike the Wolff–Chaikoff effect, the Plummer effect does not prevent the thyroid from taking up radioactive iodine, e.g. in the case of nuclear emergencies.Therefore, "plummering" with high-dose iodine is only effective in a short time window after the release of radionuclides. [9]
From 2005 to 2010, a hospital in Missouri overexposed 76 patients (most with brain cancer) during a five-year period because new radiation equipment had been set up incorrectly. [ 50 ] Although medical errors are exceptionally rare, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other members of the radiation therapy treatment team are working ...
On March 24, 2011, Japanese officials announced that "radioactive iodine-131 exceeding safety limits for infants had been detected at 18 water-purification plants in Tokyo and five other prefectures". [17] Also in Japan was the Tokaimura nuclear accidents of 1997 and 1999. The 1997 accident was far less fatal than the 1999 accident.