ABSTRACT
Background Nuclear medicine contributes significantly to the health, healthcare, and quality of life of European citizens, particularly in major clinical areas such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Every year in Europe, over 10 million patients benefit from a nuclear medicine procedure, 90% of which are diagnostic (planar, positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)) and 10% therapeutic. These radionuclide therapies (or targeted radiotherapy, TRT) will increase in importance and number in the coming years, in particular with the introduction of new molecules and radiopharmaceuticals, including radioimmunotherapy, through rapid developments in molecular biology and medicine. TRT (e.g. radioimmunotherapy) with new radiopharmaceuticals coupled to β-or α-emitting isotopes is a promising form of radiotherapy for the treatment of different forms of cancer.
