[Therapy concepts for thyroid carcinoma]

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiopharmacology

Background:

• Theranostics utilizing the sodium iodide symporter (NIS) represent a key strategy in differentiated thyroid carcinoma management.
• The shared uptake and kinetics of diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes make NIS a crucial theranostic target in this cancer type.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the limitations of NIS-based theranostics in radioiodine-refractory thyroid carcinomas (RRTC).
• To investigate alternative theranostic targets for RRTC, addressing the lack of NIS expression.

Main Methods:

• Review of current theranostic approaches for differentiated thyroid carcinoma.
• Analysis of emerging theranostic targets, including somatostatin receptors (SSTR) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), in the context of RRTC.

Main Results:

• Radioiodine-refractory thyroid carcinomas (RRTC) exhibit reduced or absent NIS expression, rendering traditional NIS-targeted theranostics ineffective.
• Emerging strategies involve targeting alternative receptors such as SSTR and PSMA in RRTC.

Conclusions:

• The development of novel theranostic targets is essential for treating radioiodine-refractory thyroid carcinomas.
• Further research is required to evaluate the clinical efficacy and prospects of SSTR- and PSMA-based theranostics in RRTC.