Localization of key medical isotope products significantly reduces cancer treatment costs
Science and Technology Daily News (Reporter Chen Yu) A reporter recently learned from CNNC that the first batch of domestically produced strontium-89 nuclides developed and produced by the China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute was officially delivered to Chengdu China Nuclear Qualcomm Isotope Co., Ltd., which means China has successfully developed key technologies in the entire process of research and development, reactor operation, irradiation, and product production in this field, which has solved the dilemma of medical isotopes relying heavily on imports, and has the formal supply capacity of strontium chloride, which has greatly reduced the treatment costs for domestic patients. It also laid the foundation for further strengthening and optimizing the domestic isotope industry.
Cancer bone metastasis is one of the common complications of malignant tumors. About 65% -80% of malignant tumors will develop bone metastases at the advanced stage. Among them, the incidence of bone pain is the highest, which seriously affects patients' daily activities, self-care ability, communication ability and overall life. The quality and related comprehensive treatment costs are relatively high.
Radionuclide therapy is mainly used for patients with extensive bone metastasis cancer. It has a history of more than 50 years. It can specifically kill bone metastasis tumor cells and play a lasting analgesic effect. Strontium chloride injection is a radioactive drug with good curative effect and low toxicity for the treatment of prostate cancer and breast cancer bone metastasis pain. The raw material of the drug strontium-89 had completely relied on foreign imports. The domestic demand for strontium-89 was 50 curies, and the market supply was unstable, which was seriously restricted by people.
With the support of China National Nuclear Corporation's overall planning, China's strontium chloride product has been a sword for ten years, successfully breaking through the key technologies of the entire process of product development and production, and establishing a strong confidence for the next stage of medical isotope research and development and industrialization.
It is understood that China's large amount of medical isotopes all depend on imports. Although a small number of isotopes such as iodine-131 have been localized, they cannot meet the domestic medical market demand. In order to realize the localization of medical isotope production for reactors, as an important force in the research and development of domestic medical isotopes, the Institute of Nuclear Power has made full use of the rich resources of reactors and carried out the research and development of medical isotope production technologies in China with new technologies and processes. The strontium-89 achieved this time is the first batch of nuclear technology application development fund support projects after the Nuclear Power Institute restarted the isotope research and development in recent years.