Studies from this laboratory have demonstrated the potential of targeting HER2 for therapeutic and imaging applications with medically relevant radionuclides. To expand the repertoire of trastuzumab as a radioimmunoconjugate (RIC) vector, use of
177Lu was investigated. The combination of a 6.7 d
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Studies from this laboratory have demonstrated the potential of targeting HER2 for therapeutic and imaging applications with medically relevant radionuclides. To expand the repertoire of trastuzumab as a radioimmunoconjugate (RIC) vector, use of
177Lu was investigated. The combination of a 6.7 d half-life, lower energy β
−-emissions (500 keV max; 130 keV ave), and an imagable γ-emission make
177Lu an attractive candidate for radioimmunotherapy (RIT) regimens for treatment of larger tumor burdens not possible with α-particle radiation. Radiolabeling trastuzumab-CHX-A″-DTPA with
177Lu was efficient with a specific binding of 60.8 ± 6.8% with HER2 positive SKOV-3 cells. Direct quantitation of tumor targeting and normal tissue uptake was performed with athymic mice bearing subcutaneous and intraperitoneal LS-174T xenografts; a peak tumor %ID/g of 24.70 ± 10.29 (96 h) and 31.70 ± 16.20 (72 h), respectively, was obtained. Normal tissue uptake of the RIC was minimal. Tumor targeting was also demonstrated by γ-scintigraphy. A therapy study administering
escalating doses of
177Lu-trastuzumab to mice bearing three day LS-174T i.p. xenografts established the effective therapeutic dose of i.p. administered
177Lu-trastuzumab at 375 μCi with a median survival of 124.5 d while a median survival of 10 d was noted for the control (untreated) group. In conclusion, trastuzumab radiolabeled with
177Lu has potential for treatment of disseminated, HER2 positive, peritoneal disease.
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