Harnessing Terbium Radioisotopes for Clinical Advancements: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Nuclear medicine
• Radiochemistry
• Oncology

Background:

• Terbium radioisotopes are being explored for medical applications.
• A systematic review was conducted to assess their current practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and assess the practical applications of four terbium radioisotopes: ¹⁴⁹Tb, ¹⁵²Tb, ¹⁵⁵Tb, and ¹⁶¹Tb.
• To identify the current research status and potential clinical utility of these isotopes.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases.
• Keywords included terbium and its four radioisotopes.
• Search updated to July 27, 2024.

Main Results:

• A total of 429 papers were reviewed after removing duplicates.
• Only nine papers discussed the potential uses of ¹⁶¹Tb and ¹⁵²Tb.
• ¹⁵⁵Tb and ¹⁴⁹Tb have not yet been studied in human subjects.

Conclusions:

• Research is shifting towards clinical studies with in-human data for radiotheranostics and nuclear oncology.
• Preliminary findings are encouraging, leading to the initiation of clinical trials.
• Clinical adoption hinges on trial success and production facility establishment.