June 13, 2011 Research introduced at SNM's 58th Annual Meeting
could be a sign of hope for patients with neuroendocrine cancer
not responding well to standard therapies. Most radiotherapies
use medical isotopes that emit beta radiation. The therapy in
this study employs alpha particles, which have potential for
higher potency. In fact, one single atom could be enough to kill
an entire cancer cell. "Until now, the usage of alpha
radionuclides was limited to direct injection into the tumor or
the use of only very small doses," says Clemens Kratochwil, MD,
lead author of the study from the University of Heidelberg,
Heidelberg, Germany, and the Institute for Transuranium
Elements, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Karlsruhe,
Germany. "This is the first patient study of dose escalation
involving the injection of a specific tumor-targeted peptide
tagged with an alpha-emitter. This provides additional options
for patients with therapy-resistant cancers; further studies
could expand the development and safe