Bench to bedside: the promise of RLT

Bench to bedside: the promise of RLT

Cancer is one of Australia’s biggest killers, touching almost every Australian directly, or their loved ones. [1]

Radioligand therapy advancements are set to support the next phase in cancer care with their precision medicine approach. Radioligand therapy (RLT) uses radioactive molecules to kill cancer cells, sparing healthy tissue and limiting patient side effects.

Although the use of radiopharmaceuticals in cancer treatment is not new, recent advancements have enhanced their specificity, bringing a new era of precision medicine. treating patients precisely with RLT is made possible by using targeted ligands that specifically bind to receptors or targets on cancerous cells, largely sparing normal cells from harm. [5-8]

Treatment with RLT can be:

• personalised by selecting and interchanging radioisotopes or targeting compounds based on the patient’s disease characteristics. [6, 8-10]
• customised for dosage and therapy duration based on the patient’s actual and predicted response.[8, 11, 12]
• monitored for treatment response through visualisation with PET and SPECT scans. [6, 8-10]

With thousands of Australians touched by cancer each year there is an urgent need to provide equitable access to radioligand therapy advancements at scale. [1, 3]

Australia can propel RLT from bench to bedside

To embrace the potential of RLT and take it from bench to bedside we have developed three recommendations that leverage Australia’s robust reputation and expertise. These are: