UZ Leuven has been investing heavily in nuclear medicine for years. After applications in imaging for examinations, such as the combined PET-MR scanner, the university hospital was one of the first in Belgium to also start treating patients with targeted radioactive substances. Radioligand therapy is an innovative and targeted treatment that uses nuclear medicine to treat different types of cancers in a very targeted way. It combines the ligand, a molecule that recognises cancer cells, with a radioactive atom, which aims to damage or destroy cancer cells with irradiation from within. The impact on nearby healthy cells remains limited in the process.
Life prolonging treatment
At UZ Leuven today, radioligand therapy is used, for example, for metastases of neuroendocrine tumours and for patients with prostate cancer who no longer experience any effect from conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The patients can no longer be cured of their disease, but the disease can be brought under control with the therapy, which is also life-extending. Because the side effects of radioligand therapy are limited, nuclear therapy provides a better quality of life than other classical treatments, such as chemotherapy or targeted medication. Since April 2024, a new nuclear medicine for out-of-treatment prostate cancer has been reimbursed in Belgium, which accelerated the demand for radioligand therapy. UZ Leuven will eventually expand the number of especially equipped rooms for nuclear treatments from 4 to 10.
Prof. dr. Karolien Goffin: "UZ Leuven invests in the construction of new room that are specifically designed to meet all the strict requirements needed for this form of nuclear medicine. The new infrastructure will allow us to extend the clinical application of radioligand therapy in recognised indications, but also to assess application in other tumour types in scientific research. The use of radioactive medication provides a targeted treatment which not only extends life but also improves our patients' quality of life by precisely attacking cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.”
Radioligand therapy improves quality of life by precisely attacking cancer cells
prof. dr. Karolien Goffin
Belgium is at the forefront
In our country, around 70,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year. For many of them, radioligand therapy can mean new hope. UZ Leuven wants to remain at the forefront of nuclear medicine and leads a lot of clinical studies to research new forms of imaging and treatments. Around 200 clinical trials in radioligand therapy are ongoing worldwide to treat other types of cancer in the future. Belgium has years of experience in the field of nuclear medicine and radioligand therapy. Our country has a unique ecosystem with leading nuclear experts, research facilities, research reactors, pharmaceutical companies, production facilities, specialised doctors and hospitals. In total, Belgian nuclear medicine has more than 5,000 dedicated professionals, including 350 doctor specialists.
To consolidate Belgium's pioneering role and future-proof our healthcare system, a broad-based action plan was drawn up in June 2024 together with professionals from the healthcare sector, hospitals, research institutes, universities, patient associations and the public services such as NIHDI, the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAGG) and the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC).
Over the next decade, we will roll out a whole range of new radioligand therapies
prof. dr. Christophe Deroose
Prof. dr. Christophe De Roose: "‘The acceleration in the development of radioligand therapy motivates us day after day to do our utmost. The greatest reward is establishing that the therapy works for a patient: we then see that symptoms diminish and the cancer visibly stabilises or reduces in size on the scanners. Over the next decade, we will roll out a whole range of new radioligand therapies to patients as part of clinical trials. We are searching vigorously for new radionuclides with potentially better properties than the current generation and directed against new targets so that we can treat more cancer types. The long-term goal is to have at least one radioligand therapy option for every patient that has substantial impact on the disease.”