A cancer-specific L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) is highly expressed in cancer tissues. Inhibiting the function of LAT1 has been known to have anti-tumor effects, but there has been limited progress in the development of radionuclide therapy agents targeting LAT1. Now, a multidisciplinary research team at Osaka University has established a targeted alpha-therapy with a novel drug targeting LAT1.
The researchers first produced the alpha-ray emitter 211Astatine, no easy task given that Astatine (At) is the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth.
