Engineer fights cancer with radioactive glass

ROLLA, Mo. -- Millions of microscopic glass beads are charged with radiation and sent surging through the bloodstream, seeking out a cancerous tumor to attack.

In theory, it's the stuff of a good science fiction yarn.

But in reality, it's the work of Delbert Day, a ceramic engineer and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-Rolla. His tiny glass beads are used in revolutionary new techniques to relieve pain and extend lives.

The beads have been proven successful at eight U.S. cancer centers, and Day awaits approval for his methods to treat arthritis and bone maladies.

"There has been nothing like this in 30 years to treat liver cancer. It is a major step in treatment," said Dr. Arthur Kennedy, a radiation oncologist at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center where the microspheres are used.

The idea emerged from the mind of a man who never owned a chemistry set, had no ambition to go to college and used his brawn as much as his brain when he arrived at UMR as a student.

Despite the intricacies of his technology, Day, 66, explains it in simple, easy-to-grasp words. He has a quick wit, joking about being drawn to his life's work because he likes playing with fire.

But his "playing" has had a major impact on medicine and treatment of cancer.

"The beads are our best contribution to mankind from this campus," said James Stoffer, professor emeritus of chemistry at UMR.

Before the beads are injected into the body, they are placed in a nuclear reactor for several days, absorbing radiation.

The secret to the beads' success is their ability to deliver bigger, more potent doses of radiation to a tumor for up to two weeks. Delivering that much radiation any other way would kill someone.

No side effects

For cancer patients, the beads offer them a chance to be treated without facing radiation's ugly side effects -- loss of hair, weakness, burns or days of nausea. When the radiation wears off, the body absorbs the beads without harming the patient.

Day owns the patent to the beads and has opened his own company to manufacture them, Mo-Sci Corp. in Rolla, the only such company in the country. The business employs more than 30 full- and part-time workers, exporting products to 22 countries.

Day's company sells the beads to MDS Nordion, a Canadian company that radiates them and then sells them to hospitals and medical groups. One dose (100 milligrams) of the beads -- marketed commercially as TheraSpheres -- sells for $10,000.

The ceramic engineer also looked for some outside help.

Ted Day, Delbert Day's son who was a pharmacist but who now works for his father at Mo-Sci, got a call from his father after the meeting.

"He called me one day at pharmacy school and said, 'Come home and teach me everything you know about the liver.' It didn't take that long," Ted Day said.

The beads were tested on animals in the late 1980s and on humans in Canada and in Europe. The FDA approved the treatment in 2000. Eight cancer centers use the treatment in the United States, and four more are considering it.