Médecine Nucléaire et Radiothérapie

Targeted use of Alpha Particles: Current Status in Cancer Therapeutics

Abstract

Oliver Sartor, Bassam N Maalouf, Carlin R Hauck and Roger M Macklis

Purpose of review: To summarize the current role of alpha particles in cancer treatment including both clinical and pre-clinical data.

Recent findings: Though discovered more than hundred years ago, no targeted alpha emitters have yet to be approved as a systemic approach to cancer therapy. Until recently, most approaches to target alpha particle emitters utilized conjugation with antibodies through chelators. Limited clinical data are available using this approach; most alpha emitters have been studied in pre-clinical models though 213bismuth has been studied in leukemic patients. The novel alpha emitter 223radium has been studied more extensively than other agents in this class and a recent large randomized phase III trial data with 223radium demonstrates overall survival benefit in castrate resistant prostate cancer patients with skeletal metastasis.

Summary: The alpha emitter 223radium is expected to play a significant future role in therapy for bone-metastatic disease and a variety of novel alpha emitters offer the potential for targeted therapy via conjugation with specific antibodies or targeted nanoparticles.