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Radiopharmaceuticals for Therapy

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Abstract

Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals exert their radiobiological action through the emission of electrically charged particles (α++ particles, β− particles, Auger electrons) that deposit their energy within a limited range in tissue—from fraction of a micrometer to a few millimeters at most. The goal of radionuclide therapy is to cause radiobiological effect with irreversible damage to cell DNA, resulting in cell death. The radionuclides are linked to carrier molecules capable of selectively transporting the radiotracers to the target tissues (in the majority of cases it is used for oncological purpose). At the moment the main indications of radionuclides therapy include treatment of malignant or benign thyroid disease, neural crest-derived tumors, neuroendocrine tumors, Non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, metastatic bone disease and intraarterial therapy of liver tumors.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Medicine Unit, “Maggiore della Carità” University Hospital, Novara, Italy

    Federica Orsini

  2. Regional Center of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Federica Guidoccio & Giuliano Mariani

Authors
  1. Federica Orsini
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  2. Federica Guidoccio
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  3. Giuliano Mariani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Federica Orsini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Regional Center of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Duccio Volterrani

  2. Regional Center of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Paola Anna Erba

  3. Hosp. Sant Pau, Nuclear Medicine Department, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Ignasi Carrió

  4. Molecular Imaging and Therapy Department, Cornell University Weill, New York, NY, USA

    H. William Strauss

  5. Regional Center of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Translational Research and Advanced Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Giuliano Mariani

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Orsini, F., Guidoccio, F., Mariani, G. (2019). Radiopharmaceuticals for Therapy. In: Volterrani, D., Erba, P.A., Carrió, I., Strauss, H.W., Mariani, G. (eds) Nuclear Medicine Textbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95564-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95564-3_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95563-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95564-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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