Alpha Emitter Articles

Alpha particle emitters have a high linear energy transfer and short range, offering the potential for treating micrometastases while sparing normal tissues. We developed a urea-based, (211)At-labeled small-molecule targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) for treatment of micrometastases due to prostate cancer (PC).

This document describes the guideline for therapy of bone metastases with radium-223 (223Ra) published by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften in Germany (AWMF) under the auspices of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nuklearmedizin (DGN), Östereichische Gesellschaft für Nuklearmedizin (OGN), and Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Nuklearmedizin (SGNM).

Recent reports of the remarkable therapeutic efficacy of 225Ac-labeled PSMA-617 for therapy of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer have underlined the clinical potential of targeted alpha therapy.

BACKGROUND - Radium-223 prolongs overall survival in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and symptomatic bone metastases, regardless of prior docetaxel. Whether or not chemotherapy can be safely administered following radium-223 treatment is of clinical importance.

223Ra was the first therapeutic alpha-emitting radionuclide registered for clinical practice. This radionuclide is targeting actively bone forming cells, and it is approved for treating metastatic skeletal disease in prostate cancer.

Radium-223 therapy was registered in 2013 as a new life-prolonging therapeutic option for patients with symptomatic bone metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after the phase 3 ALSYMPCA study.

223Radium (223Ra) is the first alpha-emitting therapy proven effective in human cancer. Prospective randomized trials indicate that 223Ra, which concentrates after intravenous injection in areas of osteoblastic metastatic disease, can prolong survival in bone-dominant castrate resistant prostate cancer patients.