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Delivering a dose of hope, brain cancer patients at Switzerland's University Hospital in Basel are receiving an innovative new cancer therapy that relies on a derivative of nuclear bomb production waste.

Through a process patented by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, an ultra-pure form of the medical isotope yttrium-90 is being extracted from waste stores for treatment of a variety of cancers. In this Phase 1 clinical trial of a brain cancer therapy called beta-radio peptide-brachytherapy, patients receive an injection of yttrium-90 linked to specially engineered peptides.

Once inside the tumor, peptides seek and bind to brain tumor cells, delivering a high dose of radiation to cancerous cells while minimizing impact to surrounding healthy tissue. The treatment causes few side effects and can be administered on an outpatient basis. Final trial results are expected by summer 1999.