Cancer Treatment by Radionuclide Therapy

Abstract

Recently, pretargeted nuclear imaging and radiotherapy have gained tremendous attention for diagnosis and treatment of cancer with nanomedicines. Radionuclide therapy (RNT) is one of the rapidly growing fields of nuclear medicine which works on the mechanism of delivery of cytotoxic levels of radiation to the disease sites, sparing the normal cells. RNT targets diseases at the cellular level rather than on a topographic anatomical level when compared to conventional external beam therapies. To improve the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of cancer imaging and therapy radionuclides of auger electron, alpha, beta and gamma-radiation emitters have been either surface-bioconjugated or after-loaded in nanoparticles during preclinical and clinical studies. Recently, the rapid growth of this branch of nuclear medicine has been stimulated by the introduction of several new radionuclides for the treatment of malignant or nonmalignant tumors. The emergence of novel tumor-specific targeting agents amalgamated with successful characterization of new target structures will pave the way for future treatment for such tumors. This study provides an overview of recent research progress in the field of nuclear medicine and status of applications, advantages and prospects of nanotargeted radionuclides for cancer therapeutic applications.

Keywords: Radionuclides, nuclear, radionuclide therapy, cancer

Cite this Article

Prashant Agarwal, Ritika Gupta. Cancer Treatment by Radionuclide Therapy. Journal of Nuclear Engineering & Technology. 2018; 8(2): 4–7p.