Abstrakt
The concept of targeted drug delivery (TDD) represents an innovative and effective treatment approach, which was developed with an attempt to minimize damage toward healthy tissues. Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with radioimmunoconjugates and TDD with antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) both represent drug delivery systems (DDS) based on monoclonal antibody-mediated delivery of toxic payloads toward the lymphoma tissue.
Other modalities of TDD are based on new formulations of "old" cytostatic agents and their passive trapping in the tumor bulk by means of enhanced permeability and retention (EPH) effect. These comprise several clinically approved liposomal formulations of anthracyclines and many investigational nanomedicines including pegylated and non-pegylated liposomes, or polymer-based nanoparticles.
Currently, the diagnostic and restaging procedures in aggressive lymphomas are based on nuclear imaging, predominantly on 2-[F18] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). On a preclinical level, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the assessment of response and therapy delivery can be fused.
Such a theranostic approach that would combine the diagnostic or restaging imaging procedure with a targeted therapy represents an appealing innovative strategy in personalized medicine in hemato-oncology.