Radiopharmaceuticals for targeted tumor diagnosis and therapy

Radiopharmaceutical research and development is carried out by the Center f or Radiopharmaceutical Science as part of the PSI Life Science Department, the Department of Applied BioSciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Tec hnology Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich. The common theme is the search for radioactive-labeled tracer molecules, which bind to specific tar gets in the body. Such radiopharmaceuticals are applied either systemically into the blood stream or locally to patients. Due to their specific molecu lar binding properties combined with the emitted radiation, they can be use d for non-invasive imaging of tumors and the destruction of tumor cells. In this first of two articles, we will present exemplified topics from the re search activities of the groups involved with tumor targeting.