Radioactive strontium therapy

Radioactive strontium is a radioactive form of the metal strontium. It is sometimes used to treat cancers that have spread to the bones, most commonly prostate cancer. If there are cancer cells in more than one area of bone, radioactive strontium can work well to treat those areas and reduce pain.

You have radioactive strontium as an injection into the vein, which may need to be repeated every 3 to 6 months. The treatment is given as an outpatient and you will be able to go home afterwards. The radioactive strontium is taken up by the cancer cells in the bone and gives a high dose of radiotherapy to these areas.

There are no immediate side effects from the injection but the treatment can sometimes cause anaemia and you will need to have regular blood tests after treatment. You will have some radioactivity in your body for a while after this treatment. But the total amount is extremely small and gets lower each day. Your radiotherapist or specialist nurse will let you know if there are any safety guidelines you need to follow after your treatment and how long you need to follow them for. This will depend on the dose of strontium you’ve had.

Your medical physicist or radiotherapist will be able to explain the treatment to you in more detail if you need it.

You can find out about written information about radioactive strontium in our thyroid cancer reading list and organisations who can help on the thyroid cancer organisations page.