Diagnostic and Therapeutic Radiopharmaceuticals: A “Hot” Topic

Abstract

we attempted to capture some of the advances in the field of radiolabeled pharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy. Positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) radiopharmaceuticals can be used to diagnose and monitor the progression of diseases such as neurological disorders, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and infections. In addition, their use helps to guide therapeutic interventions, such as radiation therapy, pharmacological treatment, and surgery, by monitoring the effectiveness of these treatments. In light of this, Yang et al. outlined factors on target druggability for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals. 1 Not surprisingly, more than 80% of the articles in this collection have reported radiopharmaceuticals for PET/SPECT imaging. Almost 50% of the radioligands for imaging presented in this collection were radiolabeled with fluorine-18. Research papers using other radionuclides for imaging such as carbon-11, gallium-68, indium-111, technetium-99m, zirconium-89, and copper-64 are also found in this collection.On the other hand, therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals induce pharmacological effects as a result of the radiotoxicity induced by the emission of particulate radiation. While designing a radiopharmaceutical for a therapeutic application, the choice of the appropriate radionuclide constitutes a prime determinant. In this collection, radionuclides such lutetium-177, astatine-211, and actinium-225 are among those reported in radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic application.