Theranostics Using Antibodies and Antibody-Related Therapeutics

In theranostics, radiolabeled compounds are used to determine a treatment strategy by combining therapeutics and diagnostics in the same agent. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and antibody-related therapeutics represent a rapidly expanding group of cancer medicines. Theranostic approaches using these drugs in oncology are particularly interesting because antibodies are designed against specific targets on the tumor cell membrane and immune cells as well as targets in the tumor microenvironment. In addition, these drugs are relatively easy to radiolabel. Noninvasive molecular imaging techniques, such as SPECT and PET, provide information on the whole-body distribution of radiolabeled mAbs and antibody-related therapeutics. Molecular antibody imaging can potentially elucidate drug target expression, tracer uptake in the tumor, tumor saturation, and heterogeneity for these parameters within the tumor. These data can support drug development and may aid in patient stratification and monitoring of the treatment response. Selecting a radionuclide for theranostic purposes generally starts by matching the serum half-life of the mAb or antibody-related therapeutic and the physical half-life of the radionuclide. Furthermore, PET imaging allows better quantification than the SPECT technique. This information has increased interest in theranostics using PET radionuclides with a relatively long physical half-life, such as Zr-89. In this review, we provide an overview of ongoing research on mAbs and antibody-related theranostics in preclinical and clinical oncologic settings. We identified 24 antibodies or antibody-related therapeutics labeled with PET radionuclides for theranostic purposes in patients. For this approach to become integrated in standard care, further standardization with respect to the procedures involved is required.