TARGETED RADIOTHERAPY OF OSTEOSARCOMA USING SM-153-EDTMP - A NEW PROMISING APPROACH

We report a case where targeted radionuclide therapy using Sm-153-EDTM P gave substantial palliative effect, A 35-year-old male with a primar y osteosarcoma located in the first lumbar vertebra relapsed with prog ressive back pain after conventional treatment modalities had failed, He became bedridden, and developed paraparesis and impaired bladder fu nction, On a diagnostic bone-scan intense radioactivity was localized in the tumor, He therefore was given Sm-153-EDTMP treatment twice, 8 w eeks apart, 35 and 32 MBq/kg body weight respectively, After a few day s the pain was significantly relieved and by the second radionuclide t reatment the pareses subsided, For six months he was able to be up and about without any neurological signs or detectable metastases, Eventu ally, however, he experienced increasing local pain, developed parapar esis, was re-operated but died 4 months later, The dramatic transient improvement observed in this case warrants further exploration using S m-153-EDTMP as a boost technique, supplementary to conventional extern al radiotherapy.