The internal dosimetry schema of the Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) Committee of the Society of Nuclear Medicine has provided a broad framework for assessment of the absorbed dose to whole organs, tissue subregions, voxelized tissue structures, and individual cellular compartments for use in both diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine. The schema was originally published in 1968, revised in 1976, and republished in didactic form with comprehensive examples as the MIRD primer in 1988 and 1991. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an organization that also supplies dosimetric models and technical data, for use in providing recommendations for limits on ionizing radiation exposure to workers and members of the general public. The ICRP has developed a dosimetry schema similar to that of the MIRD Committee but has used different terminology and symbols for fundamental quantities such as the absorbed fraction, specific absorbed fraction, and various dose coefficients. The MIRD Committee objectives for this pamphlet are 3-fold: to restate its schema for assessment of absorbed dose in a manner consistent with the needs of both the nuclear medicine and the radiation protection communities, with the goal of standardizing nomenclature; to formally adopt the dosimetry quantities equivalent dose and effective dose for use in comparative evaluations of potential risks of radiationinduced stochastic effects to patients after nuclear medicine procedures; and to discuss the need to identify dosimetry quantities based on absorbed dose that address deterministic effects relevant to targeted radionuclide therapy.

Radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) is emerging as a safe and effective targeted approach to treating many types of cancer. In RPT, radiation is systemically or locally delivered using pharmaceuticals that either bind preferentially to cancer cells or accumulate by physiological mechanisms. Almost all radionuclides used in RPT emit photons that can be imaged, enabling non-invasive visualization of the biodistribution of the therapeutic agent. Compared with almost all other systemic cancer treatment options, RPT has shown efficacy with minimal toxicity. With the recent FDA approval of several RPT agents, the remarkable potential of this treatment is now being recognized. This Review covers the fundamental properties, clinical development and associated challenges of RPT.

The potential of a-particle emitters to treat cancer has been recognized since the early 1900s. Advances in the targeted delivery of radionuclides and radionuclide conjugation chemistry, and the increased availability of a-emitters appropriate for clinical use, have recently led to patient trials of radiopharmaceuticals labeled with a-particle emitters. Although a-emitters have been studied for many decades, their current use in humans for targeted therapy is an important milestone. The objective of this work is to review those aspects of the field that are pertinent to targeted a-particle emitter therapy and to provide guidance and recommendations for human a-particle emitter dosimetry.

Purpose Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a recognized target for imaging prostate cancer. Here we present initial safety, biodistribution, and radiation dosimetry results with [18F]DCFPyL, a second-generation fluorine-18-labeled small-molecule PSMA inhibitor, in patients with prostate cancer. Procedures Biodistribution was evaluated using sequential positron-emission tomography (PET) scans in nine patients with prostate cancer. Time-activity curves from the most avid tumor foci were determined. The radiation dose to selected organs was estimated using OLINDA/EXM. Results No major radiotracer-specific adverse events were observed. Physiologic accumulation was observed in known sites of PSMA expression. Accumulation in putative sites of prostate cancer was observed (SUVmax up to >100, and tumor-to-blood ratios up to >50). The effective radiation dose from [18F]DCFPyL was 0.0139 mGy/MBq or 5 mGy (0.5 rem) from an injected dose of 370 MBq (10 mCi). Conclusions [18F]DCFPyL is safe with biodistribution as expected, and its accumulation is high in presumed primary and metastatic foci. The radiation dose from [18F]DCFPyL is similar to that from other PET radiotracers.