Inspired by novel radiopharmaceuticals: Rush hour of nuclear medicine

Yang Liu; Ya-Nan Ren; Yan Cui; Song Liu; Zhi Yang; Hua Zhu; Nan Li

doi:10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2023.05.05

Inspired by novel radiopharmaceuticals: Rush hour of nuclear medicine

Chin J Cancer Res. 2023 Oct 30;35(5):470-482. doi: 10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2023.05.05.

Authors

Yang Liu¹, Ya-Nan Ren¹, Yan Cui¹, Song Liu¹, Zhi Yang², Hua Zhu², Nan Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Beijing Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.

PMID: 37969954
PMCID: PMC10643344
DOI: 10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2023.05.05

Abstract

Nuclear medicine plays an irreplaceable role in the diagnosis and treatment of tumors. Radiopharmaceuticals are important components of nuclear medicine. Among the radiopharmaceuticals approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), radio-tracers targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and somatostatin receptor (SSTR) have held essential positions in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancers and neuroendocrine neoplasms, respectively. In recent years, FDA-approved serials of immune-therapy and targeted therapy drugs targeting programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and nectin cell adhesion molecule 4 (Nectin 4). How to screen patients suitable for these treatments and monitor the therapy? Nuclear medicine with specific radiopharmaceuticals can visualize the expression level of those targets in systemic lesions and evaluate the efficacy of treatment. In addition to radiopharmaceuticals, imaging equipment is also a key step for nuclear medicine. Advanced equipment including total-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) has been developed, which contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of tumors, as well as the development of new radiopharmaceuticals. Here, we conclude most recently advances of radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine, and they substantially increase the "arsenal" of clinicians for tumor therapy.

Keywords: Nuclear medicine; neoplasms; radiopharmaceuticals.