Targeted Radiotracers for Molecular Imaging and Therapy in Cancer
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Methods and Technologies Development".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editors
Interests: targeted radiotracers; molecular imaging; nuclear medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Targeted radiotracers are essential tools in precision oncology, enabling the visualization and treatment of various cancers. These agents consist of radionuclides conjugated to peptides, antibodies, or small molecules that selectively bind to cancer-associated targets, including somatostatin receptors, PSMA, HER2, CXCR4, integrins, and other targets. The targeted radiotracers can be used for patient stratification for personalized therapies and assessments of response to the treatment. Molecular imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) enable non-invasive, real-time visualization of tumor biology at the molecular level. Furthermore, conjugation of cytotoxic radionuclides, e.g., beta or alpha emitters, enables suppression of the tumor's growth. This Special Issue focuses on recent progress in the design, evaluation, and clinical translation of targeted radiotracers for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Emphasis is placed on the ‘’theranostic’’ approach, where the same molecular scaffold is used for both diagnosis and targeted radionuclide therapy, as exemplified by agents such as ⁶⁸Ga-/¹⁷⁷Lu-labeled PSMA and DOTATATE. This approach improves treatment planning, dosimetry, and response monitoring. Recent advances have expanded the range of radiotracers available for clinical and preclinical use, highlighting their growing relevance in oncology. This Special Issue underscores the growing clinical relevance of targeted radiotracers and provides a comprehensive overview of current challenges and future directions in molecular imaging and therapy in cancer.
Prof. Dr. Vladimir Tolmachev
Dr. Maryam Oroujeni
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- theranostic
- radionuclide molecular imaging
- targeted therapy
- specificity
- selectivity
- personalized medicine
- radiopharmaceuticals
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