Production of 177Lu for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy: Available Options

Abstract

Background: This review provides a comprehensive summary of the production of 177 Lu to meet expected future research and clinical demands. Availability of options represents the cornerstone for sustainable growth for the routine production of adequate activity levels of 177 Lu having the required quality for preparation of a variety of 177 Lu-labeled radiopharmaceuticals. The tremendous prospects associated with production of 177 Lu for use in targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) dictate that a holistic consideration should evaluate all governing factors that determine its success. Methods: While both "direct" and "indirect" reactor production routes offer the possibility for sustainable 177 Lu availability, there are several issues and challenges that must be considered to realize the full potential of these production strategies. Results: This article presents a mini review on the latest developments, current status, key challenges and possibilities for the near future. Conclusion: A broad understanding and discussion of the issues associated with 177 Lu production and processing approaches would not only ensure sustained growth and future expansion for the availability and use of 177 Lu-labeled radiopharmaceuticals, but also help future developments.

Palliative treatment of metastatic bone pain with radiopharmaceuticals: A perspective beyond Strontium-89 and Samarium-153

“…For direct irradiation of enriched 176 Lu, a specific activity value >35 Ci/mg can be obtained at neutron flux >3x10 13 n.cm -2 .s -1 (Pillai et al, , 2003. The indirect 176 Yb(n,γ) 177 Yb→ 177 Lu production route requires chemical separation of 177 Lu from the 176 Yb target atoms and the specific activity should be close to the theoretical value (110 Ci/mg) (Dash et al, 2015;Pillai et al, 2015).…”

“…Another promising radionuclide recently proposed for palliative treatment of bone metastases is Lutetium-177 ( 177 Lu) (E (max) =0.49 MeV, E (mean) =0.149 MeV) due to its appealing physical characteristics, in particular, its half-life of 6.73 days, gamma ray emissions of 113keV (6.4%) and 208 keV (10.4%) and tissue penetration of 1.8 mm (Das et al, 2009;Dash et al, 2015). A series of as the target material (Das and Pillai, 2013).…”

“…This study highlights the importance of particle energy in target-tumor radiotherapy. This together with the penetration range of different particles helps ranking the radionuclides available in two major groups: 177 Lu is found to be effective in localizing cytotoxic radiation in relatively small areas and proficient in destroying small tumors, as well as, metastatic lesions (typically less than 3 mm diameter) with less damage to surrounding normal tissue (Dash et al, 2015).…”

“…For this reason, the need for a radionuclide with high specific activity for treatment of bone metastases is less pressing than other receptor based therapies. Under this premise, medium-low specific activity radionuclides can generally be used for palliative treatment of bone metastases (Dash et al, 2015).…”

Half-life measurement of the medical radioisotope 177Lu produced from the 176Yb(n,γ) reaction

“…This second production mode is claimed to produce significantly smaller activity ratios of the 177m Lu impurity to the desired 177 Lu product [5].…”