Astatine-211 Radiopharmaceuticals; Status, Trends, and the Future.

The low range of alpha particles provides an opportunity to better target cancer cells theoretically leading to the introduction of interesting alpha emitter radiopharmaceuticals including Ac, Pb, etc. The combination of high energy and short range of alpha emitters differentiates targeted radiotherapy from other methods and reduces unwanted cytotoxicity of the cells around the tumoral tissue. Among interesting alpha emitters candidates for targeted therapy, At, one of the radioisotopes with the best optimal decay properties, shows great promise for targeted radiotherapy in some animal prostate cancer xenograft studies and bone micro tumors with significant effects compared to other beta and alpha emitters and also demonstrates interesting properties for clinical applications.

Status of α-emitter Radioimmunoconjugates for Targeted Therapy.

This minireview describes the global situation of ongoing research and development and the clinical application of alpha emitter labeled immunoconjugates with various alpha emitters with an overview of the future trends. The potentially helpful alpha emitter radioisotopes for medical applications, chelators, and immunomolecules of interest for future alpha radioimmunotherapy are discussed. Challenges and some suggested future works on chelators are also presented.