title: Harnessing the bone-seeking ability of Ca(II)-like metal ions in the treatment of metastatic cancer and resorption disorders.
abstract: Metal ions are naturally retained by skeletal tissues in living systems because of their high affinity for the hydroxyapatite-like mineral matrix that makes up cortical bone. This is particularly true for metal ions that bear a close resemblance to calcium(ii) (such as the lanthanides or alkaline earth metals), and in a few key cases this targeting ability has been exploited in order to develop medicinal agents that are intended to treat bones which have become diseased. In this review, we focus on two areas where this has been particularly effective: first is in the diagnosis and therapy of metastatic bone cancer, in which radioactive metal ions including (99m)Tc, (153)Sm, and (223)Ra are used to image, alleviate, and ablate harmful cancerous legions with good specificity versus healthy tissues; second is the use of trivalent lanthanides to treat osteoporosis, an emerging concept which has gathered significance over the last 15 years, and is now entering preclinical trials with carefully designed systems.
authors: Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry Group, Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada. orvig@chem.ubc.ca.
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Weekes
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Orvig
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D002118:Calcium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D002118:Calcium