Radionuclide Delivery Strategies in Tumor Treatment: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The aim of this review was to assess recent progress in targeted radionuclide tumor therapy, focusing on the best delivery strategies. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using the terms “radionuclides”, “liposomes”, “avidin–biotin interaction”, “theranostic”, and “molecular docking”. The 10 year filter was applied, except for the avidin–biotin interaction. Data were retrieved from both preclinical and clinical settings. Three targeting strategies were considered: pretargeting, liposomes, and ligands. Pretargeting can be achieved by exploiting the avidin–biotin interaction. This strategy seems very promising, although it has been investigated mainly in resectable tumors. Radiolabeled liposomes have attracted new interest as probes to identify the most suitable patients for treatment with liposomal formulations of common chemotherapeutics. The use of ligands for the delivery of radiotherapeutics to a specific target is still the most appealing strategy for treating tumors. The most appropriate ligand can be identified by virtually simulating its interaction with the receptor. All strategies showed great potential for use in targeted radionuclide therapy, but they also have numerous drawbacks. The most promising option is probably the one based on the use of new ligands.

Biotin-functionalized nanoparticles: an overview of recent trends in cancer detection

“…This avidin-biotin interaction allows biotinylated compounds to selectively target cancer cells. 82 Avidin-biotin interaction can deliver chemotherapeutic agents, radionuclides, 83 and NPs 84 to cancer cells. 51,85,86 Drugs conjugated with biotinylated avidin can enter cancer cells efficiently.…”

“…Avidin–biotin interaction can deliver chemotherapeutic agents, radionuclides, 83 and NPs 84 to cancer cells. 51,85,86 Drugs conjugated with biotinylated avidin can enter cancer cells efficiently.…”

Optimizing the Safety and Efficacy of Bio-Radiopharmaceuticals for Cancer Therapy

“…With interesting properties such as a large surface-area-to-volume ratio, high radionuclide loading, and straightforward synthetic routes, they have been demonstrated as attractive vectors for the delivery of radioactivity in TRT. The use of nanomaterials in TRT is beyond the scope of this review but is detailed elsewhere [ 44 , 45 , 46 ].…”

Clearing and Masking Agents in Pretargeting Strategies

“…As these strategies can further increase the target-to-background ratios by a factor of up to 125-fold, it is of utmost interest to integrate clearing or masking strategies into pretargeted approaches. The high interest and rapid progress in pretargeted radioimmunoimaging and -therapy is reflected in a large number of reviews discussing different aspects of pretargeting (for example, comparison to other radionuclide delivery strategies [1], different bioorthogonal vectors [2][3][4][5], clinical trials [6], as well as its therapeutic or theranostic applications [7][8][9][10][11]). Yet, no review has focused on the aspects and implications of different clearing and masking strategies.…”