DTU Space has launched a new research collaboration with Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet) that could have significant implications for cancer treatment through targeted radionuclide therapy.
The collaboration focuses on the production and application of astatine-211, a radioactive isotope of the rare element astatine (At). This substance is regarded as particularly promising for targeted cancer treatment using radioactive pharmaceuticals.
In the project, DTU Space is collaborating with Rigshospitalet’s Cyclotron and Radiochemistry Unit to develop and optimise new production equipment and production processes for the astatine isotope. The aim is to increase Rigshospitalet’s production capacity and support the development of more precise and less invasive cancer treatments.
”This is a truly exciting project to contribute to. We are working with technologies developed for space research that may now help improve the treatment of serious cancers here on Earth,” says Professor Irfan Kuvvetli, who leads DTU Space’s contribution to the project.
He conducts research into sensor systems and detector technology for measuring X-ray and gamma radiation.
”DTU has previously collaborated with Rigshospitalet, and we are pleased to be part of this project, where we can bring together the extensive knowledge and experience of both institutions”.
The collaboration on astatine-211 treatment comprises a number of projects over the next five years and is supported by research funding from, among others, the EU’s Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) and Innovation Fund Denmark. The total grant amounts to DKK 150 million.
Targeted treatment delivered close to cancer cells
Radionuclide therapy differs from conventional radiotherapy in that the radiation does not come from an external source outside the body. Instead, a radioactive substance is linked to a pharmaceutical compound that is introduced into the body and transported directly to the cancer cells, where the radiation is delivered.
Rigshospitalet has extensive expertise in this field, using targeted radiopharmaceuticals to deliver radiation directly to cancer cells over distances of less than one-tenth of a millimetre.
”This treatment approach is particularly interesting because it makes it possible to target very small metastatic lesions and individual cancer cells with great precision,” says Chief Physicist Holger Jensen from Rigshospitalet’s Cyclotron and Radiochemistry Unit. He leads the partnership project at Rigshospitalet and the work associated with the hospital’s MC32 cyclotron facility.
”With radionuclide therapy, we can deposit radiation very locally around the cancer cells and thereby spare the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour to a greater extent. This makes the treatment approach highly relevant in the development of future targeted cancer therapies”.
DTU contribution based on detector technology for space research
Irfan Kuvvetli’s experience in developing advanced sensor systems for space research is being used, among other things, to analyse and optimise the processes involved in the production of radioactive isotopes.
”For example, we contribute expertise in detector technology, target design and heat transfer simulations,” says Irfan Kuvvetli.
In space research, the technology is used to detect and study extreme high-energy phenomena in the universe, including black holes, neutron stars, and supernova explosions.
”This collaboration is an excellent example of how technologies and methods developed for space research can find applications far beyond their original field of research. In this case, in the development of new treatments for cancer patients,” says Irfan Kuvvetli.