Radioligand Therapy and Nuclear Imaging for Prostate, Thyroid, and Neuroendocrine Cancers

Radioligand Therapy and Nuclear Imaging for Prostate, Thyroid, and Neuroendocrine Cancers

This community develops targeted radionuclide therapies and diagnostic imaging protocols to treat and monitor specific cancers, primarily prostate, thyroid, and neuroendocrine tumors.

The work centers on radioligand therapy, where radioactive isotopes are attached to molecules that target specific cancer cells. Recurring applications include treating metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer using PSMA-targeted agents, managing differentiated thyroid cancer with radioactive iodine, and addressing neuroendocrine tumors with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. Diagnostic methods frequently cited include PET imaging, SPECT imaging, and molecular imaging techniques. The research also covers targeted alpha therapy and the evaluation of bone metastases. These studies focus on clinical trials, patient outcomes, and the optimization of imaging protocols for accurate diagnosis and treatment monitoring.

The community represents the largest share of research tracked for actinium (36.0%), astatine (41.3%), and lutetium (33.3%). It also constitutes a significant portion of radium (22.3%) and technetium (22.0%) research.

The community comprises 24,806 papers, published primarily in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, and Clinical Nuclear Medicine.

Recent work includes phase 3 trials for prostate cancer using PSMA-targeted radioligands, reviews of targeted radionuclide therapy mechanisms, and studies on partial volume correction methods in PET and SPECT imaging.

Papers behind this description

• Liquid biopsy in cancer: current status, challenges and future prospects — Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 2024 — doi:10.1038/s41392-024-02021-w
• The Lancet Commission on prostate cancer: planning for the surge in cases — The Lancet, 2024 — doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(24)00651-200651-2)
• Thyroid Cancer — JAMA, 2024 — doi:10.1001/jama.2023.26348
• Pembrolizumab in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin compared with gemcitabine and cisplatin alone for patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (KEYNOTE-966): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial — The Lancet, 2023 — doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(23)00727-400727-4)
• CAR-T cell therapy for cancer: current challenges and future directions — Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41392-025-02269-w
• European Society of Endocrinology clinical practice guidelines on the management of adrenal incidentalomas, in collaboration with the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors — European Journal of Endocrinology, 2023 — doi:10.1093/ejendo/lvad066
• Prostate Cancer, Version 4.2023, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology — Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2023 — doi:10.6004/jnccn.2023.0050
• Cancer treatment and survivorship statistics, 2025 — CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 2025 — doi:10.3322/caac.70011
• 177Lu-PSMA-617 versus a change of androgen receptor pathway inhibitor therapy for taxane-naive patients with progressive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (PSMAfore): a phase 3, randomised, controlled trial — The Lancet, 2024 — doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(24)01653-201653-2)
• EAU-EANM-ESTRO-ESUR-ISUP-SIOG Guidelines on Prostate Cancer. Part II—2024 Update: Treatment of Relapsing and Metastatic Prostate Cancer — European Urology, 2024 — doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2024.04.010
• ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline for the diagnosis, staging and treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer — Annals of Oncology, 2021 — doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2021.09.019
• Hepatocellular carcinoma: Epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment — JHEP Reports, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.jhepr.2025.101571
• Biparametric vs Multiparametric MRI for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis — JAMA, 2025 — doi:10.1001/jama.2025.13722
• Niraparib and abiraterone acetate plus prednisone for HRR-deficient metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer: a randomized phase 3 trial — Nature Medicine, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41591-025-03961-8
• The molecular blueprint of targeted radionuclide therapy — Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41571-025-01069-z
• LBA6 Phase III trial of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 combined with ADT + ARPI in patients with PSMA-positive metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (PSMAddition) — Annals of Oncology, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2025.09.101
• SPARC: The Standardised Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Analysis and Reporting Consensus: A Delphi Analysis — European Urology, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2025.08.005