In a major step toward self-sufficiency in advanced cancer care, scientists at a premier Chinese research facility say they have the capability to produce medical isotopes known as "nuclear warheads" for their ability to destroy tumors with pinpoint accuracy.

The breakthrough at the China Spallation Neutron Source in Dongguan, Guangdong province, targets a critical bottleneck in the country's healthcare system: a long-standing reliance on expensive, unstable imports of alpha isotopes. These radioactive atoms are the backbone of next-generation radiopharmaceuticals, which deliver radiation directly to cancer cells while leaving surrounding healthy tissue largely untouched.

Project leaders say the CSNS facility has the capability to produce three essential isotopes — radium-223, actinium-225, and lead-212. These have already proven effective in treating late-stage prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors.

"Nearly 5 million new cancer cases are diagnosed in China each year, accounting for one-quarter of the global total, with a mortality rate exceeding 50 percent," said Wang Sheng, director of the Spallation Neutron Source Science Center and a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of High Energy Physics.

Alpha isotopes are prized for their high energy and short range. Unlike traditional radiation, which can pass through the body and damage healthy organs, alpha particles act like "short-range heavy artillery".

Once they enter a cancer cell, they emit radiation powerful enough to snap both strands of the cell's DNA — a type of damage the cell cannot repair. Wang also noted a "bystander effect", where dying cancer cells release signals that kill neighboring malignant cells even if they are not directly hit by the radiation.

Traditionally, these isotopes are produced in nuclear reactors. However, the team in Dongguan used a different approach: a high-energy linear accelerator. By hitting a target made of thorium — a naturally occurring metal — with a beam of protons, they can "shave off" the specific isotopes they need.

Professor Dai Xiongxin, who leads the industrialization project, said this method is safer and cheaper than using reactors because it does not require highly enriched uranium, which carries nuclear proliferation risks.

"It offers flexible production capacity, broader access to raw materials, and significantly lower costs,"Dai said.

Tests confirmed the domestically produced isotopes reached a purity level exceeding 99 percent, matching the quality of international supplies.

The short lifespan of these isotopes presents a logistical challenge. Because they decay rapidly — often within days or even hours — they cannot be stored for long or shipped across vast distances.

To solve this problem, the center signed a cooperation agreement with the China Isotope & Radiation Corporation on Saturday to build a full industrial chain in Guangdong province.

The facility is currently building a dedicated production line. Once fully operational, it is expected to provide enough material for nearly 1 million patient doses annually by 2031.