MOSCOW, 31 Jul. New opportunities for the use of nuclear technologies in medicine were discussed by scientists at the International Youth Forum «Russia-Africa: Nuclear Education as a Potential for Successful Development of the Region» held at the Patrice Lumumba RUDN University. According to the participants, one of the most promising areas is the use of the peaceful atom for the treatment and diagnosis of various types of oncological, cardiological and other diseases. reactors.
With the help of protons accelerated in the accelerator, even severe stages of cancer can be cured by exposing cancer cells, Konstantin Gordon, Associate Professor of the Department of Histology, Cytology and Embryology of the Medical Institute of the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, said during a sectional report.
He added that treatment with positively charged particles is a new branch of the development of radiotherapy, the effectiveness of which has already been confirmed. , are destroyed faster than in classical therapy options,» the specialist explained.
He drew attention to the fact that since 2015 Russia has been producing domestic compact proton accelerators, and in the near future Russian researchers plan to create ion accelerators, compact neutron accelerators and other generators of radioactive particles and radiation.
According to Gordon, the creation of research reactors is especially important on which components of radiopharmaceuticals are obtained — biologically active molecules containing an unstable radiating atom that purposefully affects tumor cells in the affected organ.
These medical devices can also be used for experimental diagnosis of the most difficult-to-reach tumors, such as the brain and spinal cord.
According to experts, it is impossible to overestimate the role of research nuclear reactors in fight against dangerous diseases. A number of radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and therapy of cancerous tumors can only be obtained using this type of reactor.
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“The aim of my study is to explore the possibilities of using imaging to plan radiation therapy for brain tumors using a new radiopharmaceutical 99mTc-1-thio-D-glucose. It is absorbed into the tumor, after which it illuminates it. This makes it possible to create a more accurate image using a number of technologies and further improve the effectiveness of treatment,” emphasized the student of the master’s program “Nuclear Medicine”. Tomsk Polytechnic University Ategek Mutambi.
Nuclear and radiation facilities, such as cyclotrons and research reactors, allow, in addition to the production of radiopharmaceuticals, the latest types of radiation therapy. So, on the basis of research reactors, technologies of neutron capture therapy are being developed, which make it possible to fight inoperable tumors, for example, of the brain.
It is also important that the development of the atomic nucleus resource in medicine helps to gradually abandon unsafe methods of fighting oncology, Anastasia Galitsyna, a third-year student of the medical faculty of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, drew attention.
«We studied the effect of hormone therapy combined with radiation in the example of prostate cancer.The results showed that hormone treatment does not improve the recovery rate, but leads to a large number of side effects, such as erectile dysfunction and depression,» she said.
Galitsyna added that the study lasted for five years, and during this time there were no deaths in Russia in patients with prostate cancer who were treated with nuclear medicine.
The work of the forum can continue with long-term cooperation for the benefit of the peaceful atom between Russian students, students from African countries, as well as young scientists from other countries, Timur Fatkhudinov, deputy director of the Patrice Lumumba Medical Institute for Science, added.
According to him In my opinion, the format of an open international discussion helps young scientists develop together faster and find common interests.
«We continue to develop radiopharmaceuticals, improve radionuclide therapy, proton and neutron irradiation techniques. However, these areas are quite new, and their development requires a lot of human resource, so the university is launching a new master's program «Radiation Biomedicine», which will enable students to become pioneers,» said Fatkhudinov.
The Youth Forum was held as part of the program of the second Russia-Africa Summit , and its organizer was the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University with the support of the state corporation Rosatom.