RIT offers more personalized Cancer Treatment because radiopharmaceuticals can be tailored to the unique biologic characteristics of the patient‘s tumor, are highly selective in their ability to adhere to cancer cells, and can limit radiation exposure to healthy tissue.
As a result, RIT has fewer and less severe side effects and is generally well tolerated. Typical side effects are short-term and include fever, chills, reduced blood cell counts, low blood pressure, Diarrhea and rash. Occasionally, secondary side effects from low blood cell counts, such as infection or bleeding, can be more severe, although these are more rare, and usually managed even when they do occur. The two-week total treatment period for RIT is also much shorter than other cancer treatments, which can include daily Radiation therapy for six weeks and four to six courses of Chemotherapy administered over three or four weeks.
By contrast, Chemotherapy and Radiation therapy are non-targeted therapies that can kill both cancer cells and normal, healthy cells. These may be often accompanied by side effects including nausea, vomiting, hair loss, diminished white blood cell and Platelet counts, and a loss of energy. Although some of these symptoms are also present with RIT, they tend to be less severe.
Studies have shown that patients with resistant or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma treated with RIT benefit from a prolonged remission.
