Radioligand therapy explained
By harnessing the power of radioactive atoms and applying it to advanced cancers through radioligand therapy, RLTs are able to deliver radiation to target cells anywhere in the body. The goal of the targeted approach is to limit the damage to surrounding tissues.
A “See It, Treat It” approach
Nuclear medicine has both diagnostic imaging and therapeutic components, which we call radioligand imaging and radioligand therapy. Both use the same targeting approach. The diagnostic imaging component delivers radioactive atoms that have the potential to reveal tumor locations, while the therapeutic component delivers radioactive particles that have the potential to damage cells.
The history of nuclear medicine
Scientists first discovered and identified radioactive atoms in the late 1800s. They found that certain natural elements emit invisible rays of energy. They called this energy “radiation” and later applied it to imaging and treating cancer. It would take scientists decades to understand how to apply the energy that emerges from these special atoms.
