The Future Direction of Radiopharmaceutical Development for Cancer Theranostics
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Radiopharmaceutical Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 56084
Special Issue Editor
Interests: theranostic radioligands; targeted radionuclide therapies; targeted alpha therapies; combination therapies; molecular imaging; pharmaceutical radiochemistry; coordination and bioinorganic chemistry; radionuclide production and separation methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The journal Pharmaceuticals is planning to publish a Special Issue covering the topic “The Future Direction of Radiopharmaceutical Development for Cancer Theranostics”, and I am cordially inviting you to contribute an article to this volume.
With rapid population growth and aging, cancer is expected to rank as the leading cause of death in every country of the world in the 21st century. The development of improved diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for the management of cancer is, therefore, of utmost importance. The term “theranostics” is used for combined diagnosis and therapy, among others, in the field of radiooncology. The application of the same vector molecule with either a diagnostic or therapeutic radionuclide has the potential to overcome undesirable differences in selectivity and biodistribution that usually exist for distinct agents.
In recent years, the field of cancer radiotheranostics has evolved considerably due to the definition of suitable biological targets and targeting strategies (e.g., SSTR- and PSMA-based concepts), development of various pharmaceuticals (e.g., small low- and high-molecular-weight molecules, various antibody-like structures and nanoparticles), and increased availability of prospective diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides (e.g., α-, β+-, β–-, and Auger electron-emitters), as well as improvement of imaging techniques. In addition to optimal treatment choice, an improved staging of primary and recurrent disease, prognostic stratification, therapy follow-up, and guidance of clinical trial enrollment may maximize the likelihood of successful theranostic outcomes.
Targeted radionuclide therapy (TRNT) is an attractive treatment option in the field of cancer radiotheranostics, focusing on particular biological targets and their environments. Currently, targeted alpha therapy (TAT) represents the most rapidly developing field in nuclear medicine. Despite its great potential for cancer treatment, translation of TAT into the clinical setting is rather slow, mainly due to the lack of pre-clinical research directly linked to limited radionuclide availability. For many years, large-field radiation has been used for its immunosuppressive ability. On the contrary, the application of radioimmunotherapy demonstrates a more complex relationship with the immune system while inducing substantial changes in the tumor microenvironment beyond cellular cytotoxicity. Based on the critical role of the immune system in cancer development and dissemination, TRNT may potentially be combined with various strategies triggering immune response in order to achieve enhanced anti-tumor effect.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to host research and review papers on the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals and therapy strategies for cancer theranostics, which hold a great promise for improved patients’ outcomes in the future. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Identification of new targets for cancer theranostics;
- Design of novel radiopharmaceuticals for cancer theranostics;
- Evaluation of non-standard radionuclides potentially suitable for cancer theranostics;
- Experimental targeted radionuclide therapy strategies;
- Prospective combination therapy with targeted radionuclide therapy involved.
Dr. Martina Benešová
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- novel cancer targets
- non-standard radionuclides
- molecular imaging
- targeted radionuclide therapy
- theranostic radiopharmaceuticals
- radioimmunotherapy
- nuclear medicine
- personalized medicine
- precision medicine
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