Nationalization of brachytherapy radioactive sources in Brazil and the importance of IAEA cooperation
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2023
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INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TRENDS IN RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS
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Brazil has a cancer incidence of about 625,000 cases a year. It is a public health problem, demanding
constant efforts to deliver for patients the most efficient treatment modalities, improving their life
expectancy and quality. Brachytherapy is a type of Radiotherapy where the radioactive source is placed
close to or inside the tumor. The main advantage of the technique is to deliver the maximum dose in the
target, saving healthy tissues. In Brazil, Our group had the objective of producing sources nationally,
diminishing treatment costs, enabling the treatment to more patients. Some of our projects are developed
in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency-IAEA by technical cooperation projects. The
IAEA participation is very important to provide technological transfer through scientific visits, expert
missions, and contacts with more advanced centers. The financial support is also important, allowing us to
buy the necessary equipment to make these cancer treatment sources production feasible in Brazil. Our
team has received training through fellowships. We received some experts and organized several workshops
to propagate the Brachytherapy technique at national and Latin American level. For producing new sources,
five major areas must be considered: 1) source production: nuclear activation and/or radiochemical reaction;
2) welding; 3) quality control: leakage tests; 4) dosimetry and metrology; 5) operational procedures; 6)
validation studies. To perform all steps, a multidisciplinary team works together to overcome difficulties.
Our major projects are: Iridium-192 pellets: In Brazil there are 150 afterloading machines with pellets that
replacement every 4 months (about 450 Iridium-192 sources a year). Our new production line, with the
support of IAEA, is in progress, with the hot-cell being installed in a brand-new facility. Iridium-192 wires:
In production since 1997, also supported by IAEA. The wire is activated at IPEN’s IEA-R1 reactor for 30
hours with 5x1013 n/cm-2.s-1 neutron flux resulting in 7.1 GBq (192 mCi) maximum activity. Iridium-192
seed: New seed for ophthalmic cancer treatment. The core presented 90% activity homogeneity. We are
making the experimental dosimetry and Monte Carlo simulation. Iodine-125 seeds: Largely used in low
dose brachytherapy. I-125 binding yield achieved with our new reaction was 90%; Laser welding presented
70% efficiency. Approved in all leakage tests. Our Iodine-125 seeds laboratory production is 90% ready.
Other ongoing projects: polymeric Phosphorus-32 source for spinal cancer treatment, Gold-198
nanoparticles for prostate, breast, and liver cancer treatment, Iodine-125 seed as markers for non-palpable
cancers, and dosimetry calculations for all new sources. All the projects are advancing, despite national
funding difficulties. Withing those, several mSc, Phd, and Post-doc are getting their degrees. We will
continue to develop new products hoping to help the Brazilian population fight against cancer. The support
of IAEA has proven to be of the utmost importance for these projects not only in direct funding, but in
providing knowledge to our team, the possibility to share information with the scientific community, and
to form the next generation of scientists.
Como referenciar
ROSTELATO, MARIA E.C.M.; FEHER, ANSELMO; ZEITUNI, CARLOS A.; ROSERO, WILMMER A.A.; SOUZA, CARLA D. de; MOURA, JOÃO A. Nationalization of brachytherapy radioactive sources in Brazil and the importance of IAEA cooperation. In: INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TRENDS IN RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS, April 17-21, 2023, Vienna, Austria. Abstract... Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA, 2023. p. 23-23. Disponível em: http://repositorio.ipen.br/handle/123456789/34545. Acesso em: 13 Mar 2025.
Esta referência é gerada automaticamente de acordo com as normas do estilo IPEN/SP (ABNT NBR 6023) e recomenda-se uma verificação final e ajustes caso necessário.