Lutetium treatment in Germany

Prostate cancer treatment in Germany is effective even at an advanced stage. It does not matter how many metastases have appeared and where they are located. With the latest therapeutic techniques, German oncologists can act simultaneously on all tumors in the human body. Lutetium-177 PSMA therapy causes a decrease in the size of malignant tumors and sometimes even their complete disappearance. You can undergo your Lutetium treatment in Germany by choosing a medical care program through the Booking Health service.

What is Lutetium-177?

Lutetium-177 is a radionuclide that is a source of radiation due to beta emission. This may damage and destroy cancer cells. However, it treats healthy tissues in exactly the same way, which, although less sensitive to radiation, also die under the influence of Lutetium.

Therefore, the mere injection of radioactive substances into the human body is not enough to treat cancer. It is also necessary to ensure the selectivity of the impact so that Lutetium-177 damages cancer cells but does not affect healthy tissues.

German doctors have found a solution to this problem. Lutetium-177 was linked to ligands, which are molecules that target the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). This protein is found in cancer cells, but it is almost absent in healthy tissues. As a result, the administered radiopharmaceutical agent accumulates in malignant tumors and almost does not damage normal cells with radiation.

How is Lutetium-177 treatment carried out?

The treatment involves a slow intravenous injection of a radiopharmaceutical agent. A person will then spend 3-4 days in the hospital until the radionuclide is eliminated from the body.

Among healthy tissues, salivary glands have the greatest number of PSMA. The most common side effect of therapy is, therefore, dry mouth. Doctors cool the salivary glands during the administration of Lutetium-177 to slow blood flow and reduce radionuclide accumulation.

A small amount of the radiopharmaceutical agent is absorbed by the kidneys, so their function may deteriorate. Doctors therefore give patients intravenous crystalloid solutions to protect the kidneys. Kidney function is constantly monitored using laboratory tests to start maintenance therapy in a timely manner.

The procedure is carried out every 8 weeks. The treatment can be continued as long as there is a response to it.

Results of Lutetium-177 PSMA therapy 

As a result of cancer treatment in Germany with PSMA therapy, most tumors shrink by more than a third. This is called a partial response to treatment.

If a partial response is not achieved, the tumors will at least stop growing or decrease in size by less than a third. Even such patients benefit from treatment, which is not bad given the fact that Lutetium-177 is used in the very advanced stage of the disease where neither hormones nor chemotherapy can restrain cancer anymore.

In some cases, a complete response to treatment can be achieved when radiation diagnostic methods cannot detect a single tumor in the body. The medical literature has already described many cases when the cancer did not recur for many years, which may indicate a cure for the disease.

Even if the cancer cannot be cured, Lutetium-177 therapy can increase the life expectancy of patients and give them many more years of active life.

You are welcome to visit the Booking Health website to undergo your diagnostics and treatment for prostate cancer in one of the German hospitals. On our website, you can find out the cost of medical services, compare prices at different clinics, and make an appointment for your treatment on your preferred dates. The Booking Health specialists will help you organize your trip to Germany.