Novel Radiopharmaceuticals for Theranostic Applications

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will focus on those aspects of molecular radiotherapy (MRT) in which the MRT dose is based on imaging information obtained with the same molecular agent but labeled with a diagnostic radionuclide of the therapeutic radioisotope (radiotheranostic pairs). There is growing interest in the application of radiotheranostics in medicine, especially in oncology.

Theranostic pairs are molecular entities that share identical or near-identical physiochemical and biological attributes, including molecular targets, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, metabolism, and excretion. Diagnostic and therapeutic agents are preferably identical chemically, but, recently, bioisometric radioisotope pairs have been pursued to take advantage of their atomic decay properties.

MRT delivers therapeutic doses of radiation to specific anatomical/molecular sites via target-specific processes based on the molecular affinity between the theranostic and a unique molecular ligand presented as part of a target’s pathology. In radiotheranosis, MRT is preceded by a diagnostic image using a ‘diagnostic’ radiopharmaceutical that carries a radioisotope that emits low-energy photons or positrons for SPECT and PET, respectively, which is ideal for the quantitative image-based determination of its biodistribution and excretion. Then, for MRT dose planning, the ‘diagnostic’ pharmacokinetic data are modeled with the therapeutic radionuclide’s half-life and decay emission spectrum to establish the optimal MRT patient dose. The data are specific to each patient, so that the administered radiation dose is optimal for a particular patient’s MRT needs.

The objectives of this Special Issue are two-fold: first, to identify current advances in the development of novel radiotheranostics, and second, to inform readers of the status and clinical potential of radiotheranostics. The intended scope of topics ranges from the very basics of radiation chemistry and biophysics through to radiation dosimetry, pharmacokinetics, MRT dose and dosage formulation, and clinical efficacy as they apply to MRT. To this end, original research articles and timely reviews of radiotheranostic-based cancer MRT are most welcome.

We look forward to receiving your manuscripts.

Prof. Dr. Leonard I Wiebe
Dr. Yann Seimbille
Guest Editors

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• theranostics
• targeted radiopharmaceuticals
• radiotheranostics
• radiation dosimetry
• pharmacokinetics
• molecular radiotherapy (mrt)
• molecular targeting
• drug delivery
• diagnostic imaging