Research
Radiobiology and Targeted Radiotherapy : Jean-Pierre POUGET & David AZRIA

Our team is developing a streamlined approach in preclinical targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) for translational purposes. TRT consists of treating cancer by administering radiopharmaceuticals to the patient. These therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are composed of a vector molecule (monoclonal antibody, peptide, etc.) specifically targeting tumor cells or their environment and a radionuclide which decays by emitting ionizing radiation (Alpha, Bêta-, Auger) destroying tumor cells. The therapeutic activity of radiopharmaceuticals can be due to both the biological action of the carrier molecule and the effects of radiation.
These radiopharmaceuticals can also be developed for diagnostic purposes in order to detect tumor cells in the body. Then, the vector molecule must be adapted and the radionuclide must emit radiation detectable by molecular imaging techniques SPECT (Gamma / x) and PET (Bêta+)  but not deleterious for irradiated tissues. The approach associating to a same molecule, therapeutic or diagnostic radionuclides is called theranostic.
The rationalization of targeted radiotherapy that we are implementing is multi-parametric.
The first parameter consists in developing radiopharmaceuticals with the best specificity against the tumor.
The second parameter considered is that of the dose delivered to tumors but also to healthy tissue. The absorbed dose (Gy) is a standard for predicting the efficacy or toxicity of radiopharmaceuticals developed on the basis of dose-effect relationships between the activities administered and the biological effects observed (therapeutic efficacy / toxicity).
The third parameter groups together all of the radiobiological mechanisms involved during TRT treatment.
Finally, the last parameter consists in determining the best therapeutic combinations.
 Our team of researchers and clinicians from nuclear medicine is multidisciplinary. The main purpose of our work, carried by one, is to be transferred to the clinic for better diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

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