Auger therapy

Auger therapy
Other namesAT
SpecialtyRadioligand Therapy

Auger therapy is a form of radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer which relies on low-energy electrons (emitted by the Auger effect) to damage cancer cells, rather than the high-energy radiation used in traditional radiation therapy.[1][2] Similar to other forms of radiation therapy, Auger therapy relies on radiation-induced damage to cancer cells (particularly DNA damage) to arrest cell division, stop tumor growth and metastasis and kill cancerous cells. It differs from other types of radiation therapy in that electrons emitted via the Auger effect (Auger electrons) are released with low kinetic energy. In contrast to traditional α- and β-particle emitters, Auger electron emitters exhibit low cellular toxicity during transit in blood or bone marrow.[3]

Due to their low kinetic energy, emitted Auger electrons travel over a very short range: way less than the size of a single cell, on the order of less than a few-hundred nanometers.[4] This very short-range delivery of energy permits highly targeted therapies, since the radiation-emitting nuclide will be in close proximity to the delivery site (e.g., a DNA strand) to cause cytotoxicity.[5] However, this is a technical challenge; Auger therapeutics must enter their cell-nuclear targets to be most effective.[4][6] Auger therapeutics are radiolabelled biomolecules, capable of entering cells of interest and binding to specific sub-cellular components. These typically carry a radioactive atom capable of emitting Auger electrons. The Auger electron emission from the atom is stimulated by radioactive decay, or by external pst (primary system therapy, such as X-ray) excitation.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference unak_2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Persson, L. The Auger Electron Effect in Radiation Dosimetry–A Review. Swedish Radiation Protection Institute, S-17116 Stockholm, Sweden.
  3. ^ Knapp, Jr., F. F. (Russ) (2016). "2.5 Low-Energy Electron Emitters". Radiopharmaceuticals for Therapy. Springer, New Delhi. doi:10.1007/978-81-322-2607-9. ISBN 978-81-322-2607-9.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference kassis_2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Giacomo Pirovano, Thomas C. Wilson, Thomas Reiner, Auger: The future of precision medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Biology, Volumes 96–97, 2021, Pages 50-53, ISSN 0969-8051.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference sastry_1992 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).