Over the past few years, medicine has significantly improved in treating prostate diseases, especially cancer. Currently, there are many therapeutic methods designed to treat prostate tumors. One of the most modern and advanced is the therapy with lutetium 177 radioisotopes. This method not only effectively reduces the size of the tumor but also prevents its spread. Thus, many patients managed to achieve long-term remission.
The drugs of the Swiss company Novartis Lutathera and Pluvicto have demonstrated clinically significant improvement in survival in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. As a result, they are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Lu 177 psma is administered intravenously. The radioactive substance accumulates only in cancer cells and irradiates them without affecting healthy ones. How is this possible? The selectivity of the action of a radiopharmaceutical drug is that it is directed at a molecular target. It can only attach to specific molecules that are present in cancer cells. In healthy cells, such molecules are absent or contained in minimal quantities. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is used as such a target. Cancer cells contain hundreds of times more of it than normal ones. The lu 177 psma itself consists of two components: PSMA ligands are molecules that can bind to PSMA. Radionuclide lutetium 177, although other radioactive substances are sometimes used.
The radiation of lu 177 psma extends only 1 mm. That means healthy tissues around the cancerous tumor do not suffer from radiation. In addition, the half-life of lutetium 177 is only two days. Therefore, the patient does not carry a radiation source in the body for too long, so he usually does not suffer from complications and is not dangerous to others.
Patients with advanced cancer are considered candidates for lutetium 177 therapy if chemotherapy and hormonal treatments do not help. In addition, the tumor must be PSMA-positive, that is, contain a sufficient number of receptors for the accumulation of radiopharmaceuticals.
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TOP-5 best hospitals for lutetium 177 therapy in Germany
Germany remains one of the leading countries for the treatment of prostate cancer. The latest methods of radionuclide treatment based on lu 177 psma are used here, allowing it to affect healthy tissues minimally.
Lutetium 177 treatment in Germany can be highly effective even at advanced stages when distant metastases are present. Unfortunately, standard therapy methods provide only 25% of the five-year survival rate of such patients. But in clinics in Germany, PSMA therapy is used with the help of the isotopes lutetium 177, actinium 225, and radium 223. They accumulate in cancer cells and destroy them wherever they are.
Among the famous hospitals offering lu 177 psma therapy in Germany:
| 1 | Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch | Berlin |
| 2 | Hospital of Goethe-University | Frankfurt-am-Main |
| 3 | University Hospital rechts der Isar | Munich |
| 4 | University Hospital Ludwig-Maximilians | Munich |
| 5 | University Hospital | Marburg |
TOP-5 best hospitals for lu 177 psma therapy in Israel
The Promised Land attracts foreign patients from all over the world with a high level of medicine and a relatively low cost of medical care. Prostate cancer treatment in Israel is one of the most effective in the world. All innovations in world medicine, among which there are many author’s developments of Israeli specialists, are being rapidly implemented in the country’s clinics. Israeli doctors are successfully fighting cancer, including methods of radionuclide therapy based on lu 177 psma.
| 1 | Hadassah University Medical Centre | Jerusalem |
| 2 | Ichilov Sourasky Medical Centre | Tel Aviv |
| 3 | Rambam Health Care | Haifa |
| 4 | SHEBA Medical Centre | Ramat Gan |
| 5 | Assuta Medical Center | Tel Aviv |
TOP-5 best hospitals for lutetium 177 therapy in Poland
Medical tourism in Poland is less developed than in Israel or Turkey. Nevertheless, the country is making its way to the leaders of this industry by leaps and bounds. Today, clinics in Poland are equipped with medical equipment of the same class as in Germany or Israel. In addition, the best practices and lutetium 177 treatment methods have been adopted to fight against cancer.
| 1 | University Hospital | Krakow |
| 2 | Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Institute of Oncology | Warsaw |
| 3 | John Paul II Hospital | Krakow |
| 4 | KCM Clinic | Wroclaw |
| 5 | Oncology Center Franciszek Lukaszczyk | Bydgoszcz |
Benefits of medical tourism
Medical tourism for a modern person is not a luxury but a means of improving health and healing from various diseases. At the same time, even residents of countries with highly developed healthcare systems (for example, the USA, Switzerland, and Canada) often turn to foreign clinics that provide more affordable and equally high-quality services.
In developing countries, the diagnosis of “prostate cancer” sounds like a verdict. Most people live for decades after this diagnosis in Europe. However, in countries with a low level of medicine, a person is less likely to live a long, happy life if diagnosed with cancer. The problem is that clinics do not have the necessary equipment to carry out high-tech radionuclide methods like Lu-177 PSMA therapy that destroys cancer and does not affect healthy tissues.
When choosing a clinic for lutetium 177 therapy, it is worth considering not only the level of its technical equipment and the medical team’s professionalism but also the treatment’s effectiveness.
The main advantages of Western medicine:
- The possibility of high-quality diagnostics.
- Availability of the newest methods of treatment and modern medicines.
- Use of the latest achievements.
In European clinics, the patient receives not only practical but also comfortable treatment, as far as possible. The most modern methods of anesthesia are used there. When prescribing medication, radiation, or lu 177 psma therapy, the doctor thinks not only about the result of treatment but also about its tolerability. Lutetium 177 cancer treatment in Europe gives a person a good chance of a long life. It is often possible to achieve the complete elimination of cancer.
References:
- Prostate Cancer UK: Behind the headlines: Can a drug act like a ‘guided missile’ to target advanced prostate cancer?
- AiroMedical: Search Lutetium-177 PSMA Therapy
- Advancing Nuclear Medicine: Harry Hendrikse about the future of Lutetium 177
- Novartis: Novartis receives European Commission approval for Pluvicto
- The Royal Marsden: Lutetium 177 PSMA Therapy to Treat Advanced Prostate Cancer