Limitations to the killing of tumours using radiolabelled antibodies

We have calculated the minimum requirements for effective therapy using intravenously administered, tumour-directed antibodies labelled with either iodine 131 or yttrium 90. A lethally large amount of either radionuclide would be required to achieve tumour destruction. At least a 10-fold increase in tumour uptake is necessary to combine tumour destruction with a survivable whole-body dose. The required improvement in specific uptake can be substantially reduced by accelerating the excretion of radioactivity outside the tumour. For all situations studied, yttrium 90 is superior to iodine 131 as a cytotoxic label.