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Review
. 2024 May-Jun;30(3):218-223.
doi: 10.1097/PPO.0000000000000720.

Radiopharmaceuticals for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy: New Targets, New Therapies-Alpha-Emitters, Novel Targets

Neil K Taunk  1 , Freddy E Escorcia  2 , Jason S Lewis  3 , Lisa Bodei  3
Affiliations
Review

Radiopharmaceuticals for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy: New Targets, New Therapies-Alpha-Emitters, Novel Targets

Neil K Taunk et al. Cancer J. 2024 May-Jun.

Abstract

Radiopharmaceutical therapy has emerged as a promising approach for the treatment of various cancers. The exploration of novel targets such as tumor-specific antigens, overexpressed receptors, and intracellular biomolecules using antibodies, peptides, or small molecules has expanded the scope of radiopharmaceutical therapy, enabling precise and effective cancer treatment for an increasing number of tumor types. Alpha emitters, characterized by their high linear energy transfer and short path length, offer unique advantages in targeted therapy due to their potent cytotoxicity against cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues. This article reviews recent advancements in identifying novel targets for radiopharmaceutical therapy and applications in utilizing α-emitters for targeted treatment.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04939610 NCT03872778 NCT05870579 NCT05633160 NCT05283330 NCT05477576.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: N.K.T. reports consulting fees, research grants, travel expenses, or honoraria from Boston Scientific, Varian Medical Systems, Therapanacea AI, Point BioPharma, and Telix Pharmaceuticals. J.S.L. reports research support from Clarity Pharmaceuticals; has acted as an adviser of Inhibrx, Inc., Alpha-9 Theranostics Inc., Clarity Pharmaceuticals, Earli Inc., Evergreen Theragnostics and Telix Pharmaceuticals; is a coinventor on technologies licensed to Diaprost, Elucida Oncology, Theragnostics, Ltd., CheMatech and Samus Therapeutics LLC; is the cofounder of pHLIP Inc.; and holds equity in Curie Therapeutics Inc., Summit Biomedical Imaging, Telix Pharmaceuticals and Evergreen Theragnostics. F.E.E. reports no conflicts. L.B. reports noncompensated consultancy for AAA-Novartis, Ipsen, Clovis, ITM, IBA, Great Point Partners, PointBiopharma, and RayzeBio and research grant from AAA-Novartis.

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