Abstract
As a consequence of the high potency and short range of alpha-particles, radiopharmaceutical therapy with alpha-particle emitting radionuclides is a promising treatment approach that is under active pre-clinical and clinical investigation. To understand and predict the biological effects of alpha-particle radiopharmaceuticals, dosimetry is required at the micro or multi-cellular scale level. At such a scale, highly non-uniform irradiation of the target volume may be expected and the utility of a single absorbed dose value to predict biological effects comes into question. It is not currently possible to measure the pharmacokinetic input required for micro scale dosimetry in humans. Accordingly, pre-clinical studies are required to provide the pharmacokinetic data for dosimetry calculations. The translation of animal data to the human requires a pharmacokinetic model that links macro-and micro-scale pharmacokinetics thereby enabling the extrapolation of micro-scale kinetics from macroscopic measurements. These considerations along with a discussion of the appropriate physical quantity and related units for alpha-particle radiopharmaceutical therapy are examined in this review.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 261-265 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Current Radiopharmaceuticals |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2011 |
Keywords
- Alpha-particles
- Dosimetry
- Microdosimetry
- Modelling
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Pharmacology