Is Yttrium Y 90 safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Yttrium Y 90. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
Information in this record refers to the use of yttrium Y-90 microspheres as therapeutic agents. No information is available on the use of yttrium Y-90 microspheres during breastfeeding. However, little (with resin) or no (with glass) yttrium Y-90 attached to microspheres is available to the systemic circulation of the mother after administration via the hepatic artery, and doses less than 17 GBq do not appear to require withholding of breastfeeding.[1] In a study in which external radiation was measured after 143 administrations (124 resin, 19 glass) to 86 patients, only one exceeded the threshold for concern with close infant contact, using conservative methods.[2]
A dose of 185 MBq of yttrium Y-90 citrate injected into the knee for radiosynoviorthesis resulted in high levels of radioactivity in the milk for at least 26 days. The authors recommended cessation of breastfeeding for at least 1 month, which would usually preclude further nursing of the current infant.[3]
Mothers concerned about the level of radioactivity in their milk could ask to have it tested at a nuclear medicine facility at their hospital. When the radioactivity is at a safe level she may resume breastfeeding. A method for measuring milk radioactivity and determining the time when a mother can safely resume breastfeeding has been published.[4]
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Yttrium-90 decays by emission of beta particles, with a physical half-life of 64.1 hours and a decay energy of 2.28 MeV.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Yttrium Y 90” (LM1147). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.