[Targeted radionuclide therapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer]

Although patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer frequently have metastases to the bone, they have a relatively favorable prognosis. Therefore, it is important to keep or improve the level of patient's quality of life. The use of strontium-89 for the management of the pain from bone metastasis was approved in 2007 in Japan. A new bone-targeting radiopharmaceuticals using radium-223 is also promising, because a randomized trial showed an overall survival advantage of radium-223 in prostate patients with bone metastases. In this review, we summarize the role of targeted radionuclide therapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer, focusing on strontium-89 and radium-223.