Kamil G. Gareev
Maxim Shevtsov- 1Department of Micro and Nanoelectronics, Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI”, St. Petersburg, Russia
- 2Laboratory of Biomedical Nanotechnologies, Institute of Cytology of the RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
- 3Personalized Medicine Centre, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, St. Petersburg, Russia
- 4Institute of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia
Editorial on the Research Topic
Radiotheranostics: From basic research to clinical application
In the last few years, the term “radiothera(g)nostics” (RT) became commonly used in different fields, including theranostics, nanotheranostics, magnetotheranostics, optotheranostics, and phototheranostics (1). In RT, radioactive material (radioisotopes) coupled to targeting vectors are used for therapy and diagnosis of malignant diseases including cancer (2, 3) (Pallares and Abergel). RT often implies positron emission tomography (PET) and radiotherapy for radio-targeted treatments based on the imaging of a target area and concomitantly exposing this area to therapeutic interventions (4). Since the imaging and therapeutic probes have similar chemical properties, both can present equal pharmacokinetics (3). Therefore, the absorbed doses for the therapeutic probe into the tumor and normal tissue can be calculated from the quantitative imaging data provided by PET and single-photon emission computed tomography (5).
RT agents can be labeled with the targeting biomolecules, including small molecules, peptides, and antibodies, and can also contain targeting core materials (e.g., superparamagnetic iron oxide core). One of the most frequently used model peptides, the RGD peptide, can be used as a label for 211At radioisotope for cancer RT to provide a highly selective concentration in the tumor tissue (5). The albumin-binding prostate-specific membrane antigen radioligand based on actinium-225 can be promising for targeted α-therapy (6).
RT combined with chemotherapy can improve survival and the quality of life for patients with aggressive anaplastic thyroid cancer. Zhou et al. (7) reported on the tumor-killing effects of 64Cu-labeled NPs for RT and combined RT/Near-infrared laser-induced photothermal therapy mediated by a single-compartment nanoparticle platform. In this Research Topic, 131I labeled albumin indocyanine green nanoparticles (size 25–45 nm) with near IR light were successfully used for a radio-photothermal ablation of refractory thyroid cancer and SPECT images in mice (Zhang et al.).
RT can also treat non-malignant disorders such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in patients who cannot undergo invasive surgery due to pathophysiological conditions. In a case report, a 71-year-old patient was treated with ablative stereotactic radiotherapy (Xiao et al.). The thickness of the septum was drastically reduced from 24 to 19 mm 3 months after therapy as shown by MR imaging of T1 mapping. Stereotactic body radiotherapy in a single session to the heart may offer an alternative for endocardial or epicardial ablation techniques, as it overcomes the general limitation of energy deposition problems and has been already applied for the treatment of a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy (8).
The theranostic pair consisting of 64Cu and 67Cu has great potential for preparing metal chelates for medical use. Lee et al. describe the production method of 64Cu/67Cu radioisotopes with the 30 MeV RFT cyclotron. The radioisotope 64Cu acts as a nuclide for PET imaging and 67Cu serves as a beta emitter for therapy of the same target structure.
The review of Pallares and Abergel describes radiopharmaceuticals approved in the USA and Europe for a targeted α-therapy of non-Hodgkin lymphomas and PSAM-positive prostate carcinoma and outlines the great potential of these targeted therapeutic concepts.
In conclusion, we believe that novel RT techniques and RT agents will be translated into clinical practice in the near future. The further development of RT depends on technological improvements in the synthesis of RT agents and on the creation and implementation of newer medical equipment.
Author contributions
Both authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.
Funding
The study was supported by the Russian Federal Academic Leadership Program Priority 2030.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the contributors of this Research Topic as well as the Editorial support of the Journal.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher's note
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References
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4. Herrmann K, Schwaiger M, Lewis JS, Solomon SB, McNeil BJ, Baumann M, et al. Radiotheranostics: a roadmap for future development. Lancet Oncol. (2020) 21:e146–56. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30821-6
5. Ogawa K, Echigo H, Mishiro K, Hirata S, Washiyama K, Kitamura Y, et al. 68Ga- and 211At-labeled RGD peptides for radiotheranostics with multiradionuclides. Mol Pharm. (2021) 18:3553–62. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.1c00460
6. Busslinger SD, Tschan VJ, Richard OK, Talip Z, Schibli R, Müller C, et al. [225Ac]Ac-SibuDAB for targeted alpha therapy of prostate cancer: preclinical evaluation and comparison with [225Ac]Ac-PSMA-617. Cancers. (2022) 14:5651. doi: 10.3390/cancers14225651
7. Zhou M, Chen Y, Adachi M, Wen X, Erwin B, Mawlawi O, et al. Single agent nanoparticle for radiotherapy and radio-photothermal therapy in anaplastic thyroid cancer. Biomaterials. (2015) 57:41–9. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.04.013
Keywords: radiotheranostics, precision medicine, nuclear medicine, radiography, nanoparticles
Citation: Gareev KG and Shevtsov M (2023) Editorial: Radiotheranostics: From basic research to clinical application. Front. Med. 10:1171218. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1171218
Received: 21 February 2023; Accepted: 08 March 2023;
Published: 21 March 2023.
Edited and reviewed by: Chentian Shen, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, China
Copyright © 2023 Gareev and Shevtsov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Kamil G. Gareev, a2dnYXJlZXYmI3gwMDA0MDtldHUucnU=