Recent Advances in Pretargeted Strategy for Cancer Theranostics

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Oncology
• Radiochemistry

Background:

• Theranostic probes combine imaging and therapy for cancer, but face challenges with radionuclide and probe accumulation times.
• Discrepancies in probe accumulation and radionuclide half-lives limit current theranostic probe development.
• Long-lived radionuclides can cause suboptimal effects and high toxicity in cancer theranostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and discuss the pretargeted strategy for overcoming limitations in cancer theranostics.
• To explore various tumor-targeting vectors used in pretargeted theranostics.
• To review current challenges and future perspectives for clinical applications of pretargeted cancer theranostics.

Main Methods:

• Discusses the principle of the pretargeted strategy in nuclear medicine.
• Reviews different tumor-targeting vectors: antibody-mediated, nanoparticle-mediated, metabolic glycan labeling, and enzyme-triggered in situ self-assembly.
• Analyzes the independent optimization of pharmacokinetics for improved in vivo performance.

Main Results:

• The pretargeted strategy allows separate optimization of vector and radionuclide delivery, improving in vivo pharmacokinetics.
• This approach addresses the limitations of probe accumulation time and radionuclide half-life.
• Enables enhanced nuclear imaging and/or therapeutic effects in tumors.

Conclusions:

• Pretargeted strategy offers a promising solution for developing effective cancer theranostic probes.
• Various targeting vectors show potential for efficient radionuclide delivery and retention in tumors.
• Further research and clinical translation are needed to overcome current challenges in pretargeted cancer theranostics.