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Review
. 2025 May;52(6):2225-2238.
doi: 10.1007/s00259-025-07077-6. Epub 2025 Jan 13.

Trends in nanobody radiotheranostics

Xingru Long #  1   2   3 , Sixuan Cheng #  1   2   3 , Xiaoli Lan  4   5   6 , Weijun Wei  7 , Dawei Jiang  8   9   10
Affiliations
Review

Trends in nanobody radiotheranostics

Xingru Long et al. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2025 May.

Abstract

As the smallest antibody fragment with specific binding affinity, nanobody-based nuclear medicine has demonstrated significant potential to revolutionize the field of precision medicine, supported by burgeoning preclinical investigations and accumulating clinical evidence. However, the visualization of nanobodies has also exposed their suboptimal biodistribution patterns, which has spurred collaborative efforts to refine their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles for improved therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we present clinical results that exemplify the benefits of nanobody-based molecular imaging in cancer diagnosis. Moreover, we emphasize the indispensable role of molecular imaging as a tool for evaluating and optimizing nanobodies, thereby expanding their therapeutic potential in cancer treatment in the foreseeable future.

Keywords: Cancer theranostics; Molecular imaging; Nanobody; Nuclear medicine; Precision medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: X.Lan is one of the associate editors of European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging; W.Wei and D.Jiang are editorial members of European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. The authors declare no other conflict of interests. Ethics approval: This is a literature review and therefore no ethical approval is required.

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