Journal of Nuclear Medicine Supplement summarizes current molecular radiotherapy

Supplement projects future possibilities and partnering with patients in providing care

A special supplement to the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine examines current and future uses of radionuclide therapy and its importance in medical practice and patient management.

Supplement editors Steven M. Larson, M.D., and Eric P. Krenning, M.D., Ph.D., present a comprehensive overview intended to offer relevant advice to nuclear medicine practitioners and other professionals who may be actively involved in radionuclide therapy and to provide them with a summary of suggested patterns of practice for common radionuclide therapies now available. They also include a forecast of the near-term opportunities that are likely to determine practice in the next few years.

Radionuclide therapy is an important and increasingly significant component of modern medical practice for a growing number of patients with thyroid cancer, lymphoma, metastatic bone involvement with prostate and breast cancer and carcinoid tumors, explained Larson, who is chief of nuclear medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N.Y. Larson and Eric P. Krenning, M.D., Ph.D., Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, are guest editors for the 204-page volume of “Clinical Practice of Molecular Radiotherapy,” released in January.

In their introduction, Larson and Krenning note, “More and more, interested patients and their families will become partners in care in radionuclide therapy.” To illustrate this and other points, the editors chose a dramatic photo for the cover symbolizing an important segment of the treatment population–women with thyroid cancer–one that has the distinction of being the most rapidly increasing in incidence in this country. “Nuclear medicine will play a growing role in the care of thyroid cancer and other tumors in the future,” Larson said. Larson and Krenning also draw attention to the importance of cancer survivor groups in setting policy and promoting cancer awareness.

This essential resource includes the introduction, “A Pragmatic Perspective on Molecular Targeted Radionuclide Therapy,” along with 26 articles (including black and white and color images) addressing future applications, conventional therapies, tumor-seeking peptides in therapy and tumor-seeking monoclonal antibodies. Articles include “Radiobiologic Principles in Radionuclide Therapy”; “The Evolving Role of 131I for the Treatment of Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma”; “Bone-Seeking Radionuclides for Therapy”; “Radiosynovectomy in Rheumatology, Orthopedics and Hemophilia”; “Candidates for Peptide Receptor Radiotherapy Today and in the Future”; “Perspectives on Cancer Therapy With Radiolabeled Monoclonal Antibodies”; “The Promise of Immuno-PET in Radioimmunotherapy”; “Radiotargeted Gene Therapy”; and “Radiation Sensitizers: A Selective Review of Molecules Targeting DNA and non-DNA Targets.”

“This supplement offers significant information for nuclear/molecular imaging professionals and deserves a place in your professional library,” notes Heinrich R. Schelbert, M.D., Ph.D., editor of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. JNM is the most prominent peer-reviewed journal in nuclear medicine, molecular imaging and allied disciplines. Not only does JNM rank among the top imaging journals, its impact factor puts it in the top 5 percent of all scientific serials rated by the Institute for Scientific Information. Published monthly, JNM features clinical investigations and basic science papers, continuing education articles, book reviews, an event calendar and an employment section.