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Review
. 2023 Jul;50(8):2353-2374.
doi: 10.1007/s00259-023-06174-8. Epub 2023 Mar 16.

Radionuclide-based theranostics - a promising strategy for lung cancer

Tianxing Zhu  1   2 , Jessica C Hsu  3 , Jingpei Guo  4 , Weiyu Chen  5   6 , Weibo Cai  7 , Kai Wang  8
Affiliations
Review

Radionuclide-based theranostics - a promising strategy for lung cancer

Tianxing Zhu et al. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest literature on personalized lung cancer management using different ligands and radionuclide-based tumor-targeting agents.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Due to the heterogeneity of lung cancer, advances in precision medicine may enhance the disease management landscape. More recently, theranostics using the same molecule labeled with two different radionuclides for imaging and treatment has emerged as a promising strategy for systemic cancer management. In radionuclide-based theranostics, the target, ligand, and radionuclide should all be carefully considered to achieve an accurate diagnosis and optimal therapeutic effects for lung cancer.

Methods: We summarize the latest radiotracers and radioligand therapeutic agents used in diagnosing and treating lung cancer. In addition, we discuss the potential clinical applications and limitations associated with target-dependent radiotracers as well as therapeutic radionuclides. Finally, we provide our views on the perspectives for future development in this field.

Conclusions: Radionuclide-based theranostics show great potential in tailored medical care. We expect that this review can provide an understanding of the latest advances in radionuclide therapy for lung cancer and promote the application of radioligand theranostics in personalized medicine.

Keywords: Cancer therapy; Molecular imaging; Personalized medicine; Radioligand theranostics (RLT).

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations

Conflict of interest Weibo Cai is a scientific advisor, stockholder, and grantee of Focus-X Therapeutics, Inc.; a consultant and grantee of Ac-tithera, Inc.; a consultant of Rad Source Technologies, Inc.; a scientific advisor of Portrai, Inc.; and a scientific advisor and stockholder rTR Technovation Corporation. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Potential biomarkers in pulmonary tumors for PET or SPECT imaging and representative ligands and radionuclides for RLT. Abbreviations: PD-1/PD-L1, programmed cell death protein-1/ligand-1; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; TIGIT, T cell immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) domain; CTLA-4, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4; FAP, fibroblast activation protein; FRα, folate receptor alpha; CD166, activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule; SSTR2, somatostatin receptor 2; NRP-2, neuropilin receptor type-2; CXCR4, CXC chemokine receptor 4; VEGFR-2, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2; c-Met, the receptor of hepatocyte growth factor; TAM, tumor-associated macrophages; mAbs, monoclonal antibodies; sdAbs, single-domain antibodies; HCAb, heavy chain-only antibody
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Theranostic procedures for RLT
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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