Radioimmunotherapy in a radiation oncology environment: building a multi-specialty team

Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is a new branch of radiation medicine in which antibodies specific for tumor-associated antigens are linked to radioactive atoms to provide biologically targeted short-range molecular radiotherapy. Two such biologically targeted radiopharmaceuticals have been approved for commercial use in the last few years. Y-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) and I-131 tositumomab (Bexxar) both recognize the CD-20 surface antigen found on normal and malignant B cells. Both of these compounds produce impressive clinical results when used in the management of indolent, refractory, and transformed CD-20+ B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but the unsealed sources involved in this class of compounds also require new types of patient care coordination and patient/environmental safety procedures. Because these multifunctional compounds are ideally administered through a multi-departmental team approach, the planning process to initiate and direct such a team is quite important. This article reviews some of the key processes that may be necessary to establish a successful clinical RIT team. The manuscript highlights the important roles that the radiation oncology team members may play in this multi-department enterprise.