Targeted radionuclide therapy is one of the most intensively developing directions of nuclear medicine. Unlike conventional external beam therapy, the targeted radionuclide therapy causes less collateral damage to normal tissues and allows targeted drug delivery to a clinically diagnosed neoplastic malformations, as well as metastasized cells and cellular clusters, thus providing systemic therapy of cancer. The methods of targeted radionuclide therapy are based on the use of molecular carriers of radionuclides with high affinity to antigens on the surface of tumor cells. The potential of targeted radionuclide therapy has markedly grown nowadays due to the expanded knowledge base in cancer biology, bioengineering, and radiochemistry. In this review, progress in the radionuclide therapy of hematological malignancies and approaches for treatment of solid tumors is addressed.
Keywords: Auger electron; antibody; peptide; radio-immunotherapy; radionuclide; targeted therapy; α-emitter; β-emitter.