Radium was first used as a medical therapeutic agent in North America in about 1904. Dissolved radium in water was thought to have some medicinal quality. Gamma radiation fiom radium sources was used both internally and externally, primarily for treatment of cancers such as those of the brain, larynx, esophagus, stomach, rectum, breast, bladder, testicles, prostate, cervix, ovary, uterus, and also for diffuse cancers such as Hodgkin's disease, lymphosarcoma, and leukemia. Radiation fiom radium was also used to treat other non-malignant medical conditions and growths, such as goiters, enlarged thymus gland, thyroid disorders, nasal polyps, eye infections, and certain bone disorders.

Radium tubes were used extensively during the 1950s and 1960s for the treatment of chronic tonsillitis and enlarged adenoids, and for reduction of lymphoid tissue following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy, reduction of thymus gland (to prevent crib death), acute and chronic ear infections . (otitis media), ear trauma (aerotitis media) suffered by World War I1 pilots and Navy divers, birthmarks, acne, ringworm of the scalp, and various hearing disorders (mild tone deafness in children). .

The anticipated effect of radium therapy was a slow reduction in the mass of tissue, so that the tissue flattened and became thinner. Tissue folds, pits, or crevices opened and shrank after exposure to radiation. This made radium the treatment of choice by some physicians for conditions where inflamed or swollen tissues were problematic. Radiation therapy was generally given in a series of - three or four treatments over two weeks, and was repeated, if necessary, after six months.

Since gamma radiation originated from external radium sources, the skin usually received the highest dose. The use of radium rods, needles, and seeds avoided skin exposure, and allowed the radiation to be applied internally, and then be completely removed from the patient. However, side effects such as tissue scaring and increased incidence of thyroid cancer were associated with radium therapy. Therefore, the use of radium as a therapeutic agent was discontinued before 1960 in favor of less toxic and more effective treatments, such as antibiotics and surgery.

References:

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Shaw, Dwight B. "Radium." Mississippi ValleyMedical Journal, , pp. 67-68.

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(contiriiied on other side) Simpson, Frank E. "History of Radium Therapeutics." Illiiiois Medical Joirriral, , pp. 595-604. .-

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Fricke, Robert E. and Bowing, Harry H. "Annual Report of the Section on Radium Therapy for 1946." Proceedings of the StaffMeetiiigs of the Mnyo CIitiic, October 29, 1947, pp. 505-508.

Martin, Charles L. "Low Intensity Radium Element Needles." Janeway Lecture 1949. American Journal of Roentgenology and Radimi Therapy, October 1949, pp. 467-492.

Morrison, Wallace. "Radium and the Lymphoid Tissue of the Nasopharynx and Pharynx." Archives of OtoIaryngoIogy, September, 1949, pp. 300-308.

Fricke, Robert E. and Van Herik, Martin. "Report on Radium Therapy for. 1950." Proceedings of StaflMeeiirigs of theMay0 Chic, August 1, 1951, pp. 306-308.

Fricke, Robert E. and Van Herik, Martin. "Report on Radium Therapy for 1951 .'I Proceedings of StafMeetings of theMizyo Clinic, August 13, 1952, pp. 337-340. .

Quimby, Edith H. "The Background of Radium Therapy in the United States, 1906-1956." American Journal of RoentgenoIogy, March 1956, pp. 443-450.

Raloff, Janet. "Reassessing Radium's Risks." Science News, September 10, 1994, pp. 172- 173.

Prepared September, 1994 By the Office of HumanaRadiation Experiments of the Department of Energy