Targeted alpha-particle therapy

Targeted alpha-particle therapy (or TAT) is an in-development method of targeted radionuclide therapy of various cancers. It employs radioactive substances which undergo alpha decay to treat diseased tissue at close proximity.^[1] It has the potential to provide highly targeted treatment, especially to microscopic tumour cells. Targets include leukemias, lymphomas, gliomas, melanoma, and peritoneal carcinomatosis.^[2] As in diagnostic nuclear medicine, appropriate radionuclides can be chemically bound to a targeting biomolecule which carries the combined radiopharmaceutical to a specific treatment point.^[3]

It has been said that "α-emitters are indispensable with regard to optimisation of strategies for tumour therapy".^[4]

^ Committee on State of the Science of Nuclear Medicine; National Research Council; Division on Earth and Life Studies; Institute of Medicine; Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board; Board on Health Sciences Policy (2007). "Targeted Radionuclide Therapy". Advancing nuclear medicine through innovation. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/11985. ISBN 978-0-309-11067-9. PMID 20669430. {{cite book}}: |last6= has generic name (help)
^ Mulford, DA; Scheinberg, DA; Jurcic, JG (January 2005). "The promise of targeted {alpha}-particle therapy". Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 46 (Suppl 1): 199S–204S. PMID 15653670.
^ Dekempeneer, Yana; Keyaerts, Marleen; Krasniqi, Ahmet; Puttemans, Janik; Muyldermans, Serge; Lahoutte, Tony; D’huyvetter, Matthias; Devoogdt, Nick (19 May 2016). "Targeted alpha therapy using short-lived alpha-particles and the promise of nanobodies as targeting vehicle". Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy. 16 (8): 1035–1047. doi:10.1080/14712598.2016.1185412. PMC 4940885. PMID 27145158.
^ Seidl, Christof; Senekowitsch-Schmidtke, Reingard (2011). "Targeted Alpha Particle Therapy of Peritoneal Carcinomas". In Baum, Richard P. (ed.). Therapeutic nuclear medicine. Berlin: Springer. pp. 557–567. doi:10.1007/174_2012_678. ISBN 978-3-540-36718-5.