Technetium-99 Shortage Delays Cancer Tests
Patients in the United States and Canada are facing delays for diagnostic tests used to detect cancer, heart disease, or kidney malfunctions due to the shortage of a radioactive substance called technetium-99.
Technetium-99 is extracted from molybdenum-99 canisters obtained from nuclear reactors. The primary supplier of the canisters used by US and Canadian hospitals is a nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, which has experienced an extended shutdown since November 18th, 2007.
Chalk River’s National Research Universal (NRU) reactor originally shut down for five days of routine maintenance, but officials from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd found it necessary to keep it closed to complete additional work. The company now projects the plant will reopen sometime between the end of December and the end of January.
Until the NRU plant resumes operations or alternative sources of the material can be found, hospitals must reduce the number of medical scans performed or turn to other forms of testing to diagnose disease. Technetium-99 is injected into patients before they receive body scans.
The Society of Nuclear Medicine, which has long endorsed building a US reactor for medical materials, estimates US hospitals are currently performing scans at 20 to 30 percent capacity. The Canadian Society of Nuclear Medicine stated the shortage will cause treatment delays for 50,000 patients per month until the plant is reopened.
In the meantime, molybdenum suppliers in Europe and South Africa are being contacted to help ease the shortage, hospitals are sharing resources, and experts suggest patients talk to their doctors about the best alternative tests. As one physician stated,
“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen tomorrow. It’s clearly not a good situation.”
Source: Associated Press Article from Jacksonville Daily News
Related Links: abc.net.au; British Nuclear Medicine Society; globeandmail.com; MSNBC.com; ctv.ca; About.com
Tags: CT Scan; radiology; radioactive isotope; bone scan; 99mTc; cancer imaging
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