Dr. Jain on Radioligand Therapy in Prostate Cancer

Manoj K. Jain, MD, nuclear medicine specialist, radiologist, Mayo Clinic, discusses the use of radioligand therapy in prostate cancer.

Radioligand therapy with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is performed using Lutetium-177 PSMA, which attaches to the prostate cancer cell's surface receptor and is internalized, causing cell destruction, explains Jain.

Radioligand therapy is emerging for patients with metastatic prostate cancer, though it is still investigational in the United States. The therapy is useful for smaller lesions, Jain says, because the particle itself travels about 2 mm once it is within the cell. Radioligand therapy limits the destruction of the normal cell tissue, concludes Jain.