Targeted Radionuclide Therapy Introduction Radionuclide therapy is the use of ionizing radiation in the management of cancer. The main goal of the therapy is to completely kill the cancer cells or cause damage to the DNA of the cancer cells, thus preventing these cells from undergoing further development, division, and growth (Bolus & Brady, 2011). Radionuclide therapy can have a curative effect if the target tumor cells are localized to a specific region of the body and have not spread. It is also used as a component of adjuvant therapy, where it is used to prevent the possibility of tumor cells removed by surgery from returning. Radiotherapy can also be performed together with chemotherapy before, during or after the procedure in very sensitive tumors (Schulz-Ertner, Jakel & Schlegel, 2006). The purpose of this discussion is to provide an introduction to radionuclide therapy, its types and uses, and to compare it to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Discussion The most common type of radiation therapy used involves exposing patients to external radiation. In this method, a beam containing high-energy X-rays is directed at a specific region of the body to irradiate major tumors. However, the problem with this technique is the ability to target normal tissues of adjacent organs (Noda et al., 2009). Unlike this, targeted radionuclide therapy works like chemotherapy. A molecule labeled with a radionuclide is administered orally or intravenously to deliver radiation that is sufficiently toxic to the site of disease to kill target cells (Bolus & Brady, 2011). However, the main difference with chemotherapy is that only drugs or toxins... middle of paper... the effectiveness of the treatment is rated between 40% and 95% in terms of pain relief (Bolus & Brady, 2011; Lutz et al., 2011). Conclusion Targeted radionuclide is one of the important technological developments in the field of radiotherapy. It can be used as a single procedure compared to exposure to external radiation and chemotherapy, although they can be used in combination if this ensures optimal results. This procedure is highly advantageous compared to conventional methods and should be considered as the procedure of choice, especially in metastatic bone tumors. Among its main applications is its use in the control of thyroid cancer, which shows a huge decrease in the rate of thyroid cancer and improves the lifestyle of patients. Radionuclide therapy also shows its palliative effect in the pain of bone metastases. Both applications proved to be easy to administer, secure and effective.