Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (Formerly Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents) - Volume 7, Issue 3, 2007

The rapid development of clinical diagnostic imaging technology, in combination with medical and pharmaceutical research, has led to important improvements in healthcare. Imaging of biologic processes at cellular and molecular levels termed “molecular imaging” is one of the most innovative examples. In contradistinction to “conventional” diagnostic imaging, it sets forth to probe abnormalities that are the basis of Read More

Originally, nuclear medicine focused on radiopharmaceuticals trapped in organ structures, based on their function, and the presence of disease was seen by the absence of radioactivity. More recently, target-specific radiopharmaceuticals have been developed to visualize and/or treat oncological diseases. Since radiopharmaceuticals have historically a leading position in the search for “molecular imaging”, it would be a Read More

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increasingly used in clinical diagnostics, for a rapidly growing number of indications. The MRI technique is non-invasive and can provide information on the anatomy, function and metabolism of tissues in vivo. MRI scans of tissue anatomy and function make use of the two hydrogen atoms in water to generate the image. Apart from differences in the local water content, the basic contr Read More

Intravascular iodinated contrast agents are required for a large proportion of computed tomography (CT) studies. Contrast media are indispensable to more clearly differentiate anatomic structures and to detect and characterize abnormalities. Depending on the indication up to 200 ml of these agents are injected during CT. Despite these large amounts adverse effects are rare and have further decreased with the introduction of Read More

Noninvasive imaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) play an increasingly important role in the diagnostic workup and treatment of cancerous disease. In this context, a distinct trend can be observed towards the development of contrast agents and radiopharmaceuticals that open up perspectives on a multimod Read More

Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) using radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against tumor-associated antigens has evolved from an appealing concept to one of the standard treatment options for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Inefficient localization of radiolabeled MAbs to nonhematological cancers due to various tumor-related factors, however, limits the therapeutic efficacy of RIT in solid tumors. Read More

Radiolabelled peptides have shown to be an important class of radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy of malignancies expressing receptors of regulatory peptides. These peptides have high affinity and specificity for their receptors. The majority of these receptors are present at different levels in different tissues and tumours. This review focuses on the application of regulatory peptides radiolabelled with 67/68Ga , 90Y, 11 Read More

The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway plays a central role in the degradation of proteins involved in several pathways including the cell cycle, cellular proliferation and apoptosis. Bortezomib is the first proteasome inhibitor to enter clinical use, and received approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, therefore validating inhibition of the proteasome as an antica Read More

For radiotherapy, biomolecules such as intact antibodies, antibody fragments, peptides, DNAs and other oligomers have all been labeled with radiorhenium (186Re and 188Re). Three different approaches have been employed that may be referred to as direct, indirect and integral labeling. Direct labeling applies to proteins and involves the initial reduction of endogenous disulfide bridges to provide chelation sites. Indirect la Read More