The effect of nuclear medicine therapy is based on the principle that the radioactive substance is transported to the cancer cell and destroys it with radiation that is highly localized.
These treatments are a form of targeted radiotherapy, as the radiation destroys only cancer cells without damaging surrounding healthy tissue.
Nuclear medicine therapies are used to treat, among others:
Thyroid cancers
Prostate cancers
Inflammatory joint diseases
Lymphomas i.e. cancers of the lymph nodes
Nuclear medicine therapy is also referred to as radiopharmaceutical therapy or molecular radiotherapy. These treatments are generally not administered to children.