OREANDA-NEWS A radiopharmaceutical for the accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer based on the technetium-99m isotope was developed by scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University. According to scientists, the drug is cheaper than analogues and easier to manufacture, and its use will allow timely assistance to more patients. This was reported in the press service of the university.

Diagnosis and therapy of cancer with the help of radioactive isotopes is an urgent area of medicine. The use of radionuclides makes it possible to detect and destroy cancer cells with great accuracy. Both the treatment and diagnosis of cancer with many radiopharmaceuticals, including the compound based on the isotope lutetium-177-PSMA used in Russia, involves the selection of patients using positron emission tomography (PET).

Installations for it are expensive and are not widespread in most countries, the scientists said. The more accessible and accurate the diagnosis is, the more patients will be able to receive effective treatment in time, the scientists stressed.
A team of specialists from Tomsk Polytechnic University, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science "Priority-2030" program, has developed a radiopharmaceutical for the rapid diagnosis of prostate cancer, the use of which does not require PET. According to scientists, the drug consists of an isotope of technetium-99m and a molecule of a special protein.