Superficial skin cancer therapy with Y-90 microspheres: A feasibility study on patch preparation

Radiation therapy using beta particles is an interesting treatment for very superficial skin lesions. Due to their low penetration in tissue and rapid dose fall-off, beta particles can protect underlying bony structures and surrounding healthy tissue while irradiating the skin tumor. In the current work, a simple method for the fabrication of a radioactive patch for use in skin cancer therapy based on a beta-emitting isotope is presented.

The beta radiation sources were Y-90 microspheres currently used for catheter-based radioembolization of unresectable liver tumors. The microspheres were filtered through a syringe filter to trap them on the cellulose nitrate paper of the filter and create a radioactive patch. In the current study, to avoid the need for a hot laboratory, the experiment was done using nonradioactive microspheres. An optical microscope was used to verify the distribution of the particles on the filter paper.

Visual evaluation of the patches showed that using the proposed method, therapeutic skin patches with a fairly uniform distribution of microspheres can be created.

The proposed simple method may be used in creating radiotherapeutic patches using Y-90 microspheres for radiation therapy of thin skin lesions located close to sensitive structures.