Bruce Power partners with Sunnybrook in cancer fight, through innovative isotope treatments

Building on its leadership position in the production of medical isotopes, Bruce Power has announced a new partnership with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in support of a potentially life-saving clinical trial in stereotactic radiosurgery using medical-grade Cobalt-60.

Bruce Power will provide a total of $95,000 in funding over the next three years to be used by Sunnybrook’s Cancer Adaptive Ablation Therapy Program to study the future of stereotactic radiosurgery, which focuses on saving lives and improving patient outcomes by destroying tumours without surgery.

“Bruce Power has been a world leader in the production of medical isotopes and we are proud to fund this initiative through Sunnybrook Foundation,” said James Scongack, Bruce Power’s chief operating officer and executive vice-president.

“Cobalt-60 is critical in the global health-care system for non-invasive cancer treatments and has been used for decades to help patients through radiation oncology and nuclear medicine. Through this study, we are proud to support the future of nuclear medicine and the brilliant research of the dedicated physicists, radiation therapists and medical professionals at Sunnybrook who are providing the foundation to advance cancer treatments and procedures to help save lives.”

The funding will be used to study future uses for stereotactic radiosurgery employing High Specific Activity (HSA) Cobalt-60, a medical-grade Cobalt-60 produced at Bruce Power and used in the treatment of brain tumours employing the Leksell Gamma Knife®.

HSA Cobalt-60 radiation therapies limit damage to healthy tissues by delivering a single, high dose of radiation with a high degree of accuracy to the target, lowering the risk of side effects for some patients when compared to other types of radiation therapy. These treatments allow patients to get back to their lives quickly with the fewest possible side effects.

The clinical research trial, which is expected to run through 2027, will advance care for 57 patients with cancer that has metastasized in the brain. The research will be led by Dr. Arjun Sahgal, chief, Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Program, and a global leader in the treatment of brain and spine metastases.

“This trial is innovative by taking advantage of the biologic power of both X-ray based radiation delivery, with a linear accelerator, and Cobalt-60 radiation, with a Gamma Knife, for the hardest to treat brain cancers,” said Sahgal. “We are grateful for this partnership as it promotes innovative use and approaches to using medial isotopes, which are instrumental in delivering the best health care possible to our patients.”

Bruce Power has produced Cobalt-60 for more than 35 years, harvested from its units during planned maintenance outages. The Cobalt-60 produced by Bruce Power is also used in the sterilization of single-use medical devices or in a wide range of industrial applications to disinfect food or commercial products.

However, Bruce Power is one of only a small number of worldwide producers of the medical-grade Cobalt-60 used to treat cancer. Bruce Power’s isotope program also includes the production of Lutetium-177, another cancer-fighting isotope.

Cobalt-60 isotopes were used for the first time in Canada to treat cancer in October, 1951, in London.

Learn more about how Bruce Power is helping to keep hospitals safe, and also diagnosing and treating cancer, at www.brucepower.com/isotopes.



Bruce Power is donating $95,000 over the next three years to study the future of stereotactic radiosurgery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; from left, are Bruce Power’s Jenny Boyadjian, isotope expansion manager, and Peter McDermid, director of isotope business development; Dr. Arjun Sahgal, chief, Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; and Pat Dalzell, Bruce Power’s vice-president of corporate affairs and market development; photo by Kevin Van Paassen/Sunnybrook