1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-basedreagents, when conjugated to antibody fragments and injected into mice, produced the metabolites [111In]In-DO3AiBu-Bn-F and [111In]In-DOTA-Bn-F, which were dissimilarly eliminated by the kidneys. Quite notably, [111In]In-DO3AiBu-Bn-FGK-Fab showed the lowest renal localization without impairing tumor accumulation, thus paving the way for the possible clinical evaluation of this radiotheranostic approach. Credit: Suzuki et al., Chiba University
Radiotheranostics embodies the convergence of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals into a unified platform. In cancer treatment, radiotheranostic procedures typically involve the use of antibodies that bind to proteins abundantly found on the surface of cancerous cells. The antibodies are labeled with a suitable radioisotope, which facilitates imaging procedures used to diagnose cancer and can be used to target cancerous cells and bombard them with deadly radiation as a form of treatment.
Although radiolabeled antibodies show promise as a treatment for cancer, several hurdles impede their clinical translation. The most notable impediment is slow blood clearance, which causes bone marrow toxicities.