Radiological department №1 (Department of radioiodine therapy)

In the radiological building of the Gomel Regional Clinical Oncology Dispensary, the largest nuclear medicine department in Europe with 20 beds is deployed on two floors.

The Department of Nuclear Medicine was opened in 1994 to provide care for patients with highly differentiated thyroid cancer. The discovery took place after the signing of an agreement between the Gomel Regional Clinical Oncology Dispensary and the OTTO HUG Radiation Institute in Munich, represented by Professor E. Langfelder.

Every year, about 1,000 patients receive care at the Department of Nuclear Medicine.

On the basis of our department, patients with malignant and benign thyroid pathology are treated with the use of radiopharmaceutical I 131 (capsule form), supplied by the company "POLATOM" Poland.

Radioiodine therapy, performed in our department, refers to selective radiation therapy, which provides rapid completion of ablation of residual thyroid tissue, timely diagnosis and effective treatment of a possible metastatic process of highly differentiated thyroid cancer.

Radioiodine therapy is used after surgical treatment of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (papillary histological version, follicular histological version).

Since 2007, our department has successfully treated a benign pathology of the thyroid gland – Graves ' disease (diffuse toxic goiter, functional autonomy of the thyroid gland).

Around the world, most patients with Graves ' disease get radioactive iodine therapy as a treatment. This method of therapy is comfortable for the patient (taking a capsule), devoid of those complications that may develop during surgery, there is no cosmetic defect (postoperative scar), can be used in patients who have contraindications to surgical treatment.

 The department has modern equipment, qualified medical staff and comfortable conditions for patients to stay during treatment.

Drobyshevskaya Tatyana Sergeevna

Head of department

Doctor of radiation oncologist of the first qualification category

Bystrenko Oksana Vladimirovna

Doctor radiation Oncologist

Iodine is a trace element necessary for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland. The therapeutic effect is based on the radioactivity of the isotope I131, which is a beta and gamma emitter. Penetrating into the cells of the thyroid gland I 131, like ordinary iodine, with the help of beta particles destroys them. The radioactive isotope I 131 destroys both thyroid cells (the remnants of the tissue itself)and tumor cells that have spread beyond it.

The intake of radioactive iodine is carried out by mouth, by swallowing the usual type of gelatin capsules containing the isotope I 131.

After taking capsules with RFP I 131, the patient is placed in a ward for several days.

Visits to such patients are not allowed in order to reduce the risk of radiation exposure to others. After 24 hours, and in the following days, dosimetric monitoring is carried out and when the exposure dose rate decreases to acceptable values, the patient with VDRZH is examined on a gamma camera (postdiagnostic/post-therapeutic full-body scintigraphy).