(188)Re-SSS/Lipiodol: Development of a Potential Treatment for HCC from Bench to Bedside.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the 5th most common tumour worldwide and has a dark prognosis. For nonoperable cases, metabolic radiotherapy with Lipiodol labelled with β-emitters is a promising therapeutic option. The Comprehensive Cancer Centre Eugène Marquis and the National Graduate School of Chemistry of Rennes (ENSCR) have jointly developed a stable and efficient labelling of Lipiodol with rhenium-188 (E(βmax) = 2.1 MeV) for the treatment of HCC. The major "milestones" of this development, from the first syntheses to the recent first injection in man, are described.