Radiolabeled peptides rise to the challenge in the face of cancer.

2004 JUN 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Radiolabeled peptides rise to the challenge in the face of cancer.

According to a study from the Netherlands, "on their plasma membranes, cells express receptor proteins with high affinity for regulatory peptides such as somatostatin. Changes in the density of these receptors during disease, e.g. overexpression in many tumors, provide the basis for new imaging methods. The first peptide analogues successfully applied for visualization of receptor-positive tumors were the radiolabeled somatostatin analogues. The next step was to label these analogues with therapeutic radionuclides for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. …