Studies with beta particle emitting radionuclide for cancer therapy

Use of radiation is well established primary modalities for the treatment of various cancers. Radionuclides therapy using radiopharmaceuticals are very effective in certain cancers, such as thyroid cancer and tumor micrometastasis. Radionuclides therapy is most often accomplished by using radioisotopes capable of emitting alpha and/or beta, as it is important to deliver the radiation dose to the target tissue, while sparing the neighboring healthy tissues. In this context,131I has been used for therapy since more than six decades to treat thyroid disorder and is still among the most promising therapeutic radionuclide. While thyroid cancer has been treated since several decades using radiopharmaceuticals, attempt to treat many other cancers over the past have opened the avenue for effective treatment of several malignancies. One such malignancy is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), express higher number of CD20. There are several anti CD20 antibodies used in clinics however, rituximab chosen for the targeted delivery of radionuclide to the tumor tissue and expected more cell death. Which further explore with combining drugs for better gain of therapeutic efficacy in terms of cell death.