ABSTRACT
With the discovery of radioiodine therapy, whose origins date back to 1936, targeted therapeutic applications have become one of the cornerstones of nuclear medicine. In recent decades, the discovery of numerous molecules labelled with other beta-emitting radionuclides such as Lu-177 and Y-90 has ensured rapid progress in this field. The success of beta-emitting radiopharmaceuticals has focused attention on treatment with alpha radionuclides. Targeted alpha radionuclide therapies offer a more effective treatment option due to their high linear energy transfer, while their short range limits the impact on healthy tissue and thus the potential side effects. For these reasons, alpha radionuclide therapies hold great promise in cancer treatment. This review briefly summarises the ongoing phase studies on alpha radionuclide therapy.