224Ra-Radium Chloride was used for a long time between the early 1940s and the 1980s in the treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis (Morbus Bechterev). The drug was initially used at high doses of up to 50 MBq in a mixture with platinum and eosin called Peteosthor™ until 1956. As no alternative treatment was available and it became obvious that ten weekly doses of 1 MBq 224Ra-Radium Chloride gave the same results with lower side-effects, the new formulation stayed on the market until its manufacturing was stopped in 1985 (for economic reasons).
Investment in local production of the same compound re-named as 224-SpondylAT® was initiated in the late 1990’s and the drug was brought back on the unique German market (Germany) in October 2000.
Deeper toxicology studies showed that the drug was efficient in pain killing but demonstrated an increased risk of myeloid leukemia and bone sarcomas linked to an increase of mortality in those patients. As alternative treatments to palliate the bone pain became available, 224Ra-Radium Chloride was finally fully withdrawn from this market in 2006.
Target/Mechanism: Brachytherapy – local applications
Leading Emitter: Alpha particle (α)