A large number of different radioisotopes have been used for measurement of disease conditions in the human body. They may measure liquid volumes, rates of flow or rates of transfer through organs or membranes; they may show the behavior of internal organs; they may differentiate between normal and malignant tissues. Hundreds of hospitals are now making thousands of these tests annually.
This does not mean that all the diagnostic problems have been solved. Much of the work is on an experimental rather than a routine basis. Improvements in techniques are still being made. As quantities of radioisotopes available for these purposes grow, and as the cost continues to drop, it is expected there will be still more applications. Finally, this does not mean we no longer need the doctor’s diagnostic skill. All radioisotope procedures are merely tools to aid the skilled physician. As the practice of medicine has changed from an art to a science, radioisotopes have played a useful part.
THERAPY
A Successful Case
A doctor recently told this story about a cancer patient who was cured by irradiation with cobalt-60.
“A 75-year-old white male patient, who had been hoarse for one month, was treated unsuccessfully with the usual medications given for a bad cold. Finally, examination of his larynx revealed an ulcerated swelling on the right vocal cord. A biopsy (microscopic examination of a tissue sample) was made, and it was found the swelling was a squamous-cell cancer.
“Daily radiation treatment using a cobalt-60 device was started and continued for 31 days. This was in September 1959. The cobalt-60 unit is one that can be operated by remote control. It positions radioactive cobalt over a collimator, which determines the size of the radiation beam reaching the patient. The machine may be made to rotate around the patient or can be used at any desired angle or position.
“When the treatment series was in progress, the patient’s voice was temporarily made worse, but it returned to normal within two months after the treatment ended. The radiation destroyed the cancerous growth, and frequent examinations over 6 years since have failed to reveal any regrowth.
“The treatment spared the patient’s vocal cords, and his voice, airway, and food passage were preserved.”