Advances in Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals: Imaging, Therapy, and Clinical Perspectives
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 38
Special Issue Editors
Interests: molecular imaging; radiopharmaceutical therapy; radiotheranostics; linker chemistry; targeted drug delivery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: biostatistics; pharmacokinetics; clinical epidemiology; clinical trials in oncology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Radiopharmaceuticals have emerged as transformative agents in oncology, combining molecular targeting with diagnostic imaging or therapeutic radiation. By linking radioactive isotopes to ligands, small molecules, peptides, or antibodies that selectively bind tumor-associated biomarkers, these agents enable precise tumor visualization, dosimetry, and targeted therapy while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Landmark FDA approvals have underscored their clinical impact, with the use of 177Lu-DOTATATE for somatostatin-receptor-positive neuroendocrine tumors and 177Lu-PSMA-617 for PSMA-expressing metastatic prostate cancer establishing radiopharmaceuticals as practical theranostic tools, integrating imaging and therapy in a personalized treatment paradigm.
In addition to beta-emitting therapies, alpha-emitting radiopharmaceuticals are emerging as highly potent options due to their high linear energy transfer and short tissue penetration, offering superior tumor cell killing with limited off-target toxicity. For instance, 225Ac-PSMA-617 has shown remarkable clinical efficacy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and is currently being employed under compassionate use protocols in patients who have exhausted standard treatments.
This Special Issue, “Advances in Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals: Imaging, Therapy, and Clinical Perspectives”, aims to highlight recent advances in the design, development, and clinical translation of radiopharmaceuticals. We welcome high-quality contributions including original research, reviews, and communications that explore molecular imaging, targeted radionuclide therapy, radiochemistry, combinational treatment strategies, and AI-assisted imaging and therapy planning.
Dr. Kondapa Naidu Bobba
Dr. Roberto Passera
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- PET/SPECT radiotracers for cancer diagnosis and staging
- targeted beta- and alpha-emitting radionuclide therapy and theranostics
- radiochemistry innovation, chelator, and isotope development
- dosimetry modeling, radiobiology, and treatment optimization
- preclinical and translational studies
- clinical case studies and emerging therapeutic indications
- combinational therapies integrating radiopharmaceuticals with systemic therapy, immunotherapy, or external-beam radiation
- artificial intelligence (AI) integration for imaging analysis, dosimetry, and therapy planning
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