title: Therapeutic radionuclides in nuclear medicine: current and future prospects.
abstract: The potential use of radionuclides in therapy has been recognized for many decades. A number of radionuclides, such as iodine-131 ((131)I), phosphorous-32 ((32)P), strontium-90 ((90)Sr), and yttrium-90 ((90)Y), have been used successfully for the treatment of many benign and malignant disorders. Recently, the rapid growth of this branch of nuclear medicine has been stimulated by the introduction of a number of new radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of metastatic bone pain and neuroendocrine and other malignant or non-malignant tumours. Today, the field of radionuclide therapy is enjoying an exciting phase and is poised for greater growth and development in the coming years. For example, in Asia, the high prevalence of thyroid and liver diseases has prompted many novel developments and clinical trials using targeted radionuclide therapy. This paper reviews the characteristics and clinical applications of the commonly available therapeutic radionuclides, as well as the problems and issues involved in translating novel radionuclides into clinical therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Imaging & University of Malaya Research Imaging Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; Department of Nuclear Medicine, the Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
authors.forename: Chai-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yeong
authors.forename: Mu-hua
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Kwan-Hoong
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007553:Isotope Labeling / Q000639:trends; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy / Q000639:trends*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009683:Nuclear Medicine / Q000639:trends*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000639:trends*
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
keywords: Molecular targeting; Radioimmunotherapy; Targeted radionuclide therapy; Theranostics; Therapeutic radionuclide