Targeting prostate cancer with radiolabelled bombesins

The fact that a number of common human tumours, including those of breast and prostate, express increased levels of the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRP-R) means that this receptor is a potential target for peptide receptor mediated scintigraphy and targeted radionuclide therapy. Although clinical application is yet in its infancy, there is a considerable literature on preclinical studies aimed at developing suitable radioligands for potential clinical application. This brief review provides an overview of this research and also describes some of the limited clinical studies that have been published.