Radiopharmaceutical Innovations for Precision Imaging and Treatment of Malignant Tumors

• Rakesh S. Sankaran

  Radiodiagnosis, Tagore Medical College & Hospital, India

• Monu Sarin

  Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, SGT University, Gurugram, Haryana, India

• Jyoti Prakash Samal

  Department of Onco-Medicine, IMS and SUM Hospital, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

• Tarun Parashar

  School of Pharmacy & Research, Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand University, Dehradun, India

• Aashim Dhawan

  Centre of Research Impact and Outcome, Chitkara University, Rajpura- 140417, Punjab, India

• S. Balaji

  Department of CSE, Panimalar Engineering College, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

Radiopharmaceuticals are innovative, and their use is highly significant in the correct imaging and treatment of malignant tumors, because these radiopharmaceuticals are most accurate in diagnosis and treatment. Through real-time visualization and quantification of radioactive isotopes that are supplied into the tumors and exclusive to a specific molecule, critical biological processes can be monitored. The growth of improved radiolabeling, selection of isotopes, and formulation of ligands has made radiopharmaceuticals become more tumor-selective, more biodistributed, and also safer in general. There is an emergence of theranostic chemicals that have the ability to diagnose as well as provide treatment, similar to the case of Peptides labeled with ⁶⁸Ga or ¹⁷⁷Lu, which are applied in cancer treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. The development of new pharmaceutical drugs with a specific ability to identify genes specific to particular cancers, such as PSA in prostate and HER-2 in breast, can result in faster diagnosis and tailored treatment. Moreover, there has been an advancement in radiation measurement procedures and the development of new diagnostic instruments, such as positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT), which have increased the ability to assess the effect of treatment, leading to reduced incidental exposure of healthy tissues. Despite the difficulties encountered in the legislative, logistic, and industrial spheres, radiopharmaceuticals have the tremendous promise of a change in oncology, which will enable the development of treatments that are customized, effective, and less intrusive. The article is a review of the study in the radiopharmaceutical field in precision oncology to enhance survival and quality of life in patients with malignant tumors.

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