Comparison of Radionuclide Drug Conjugates With Boron Neutron Capture Therapy: An Overview of Targeted Charged Particle Radiation Therapy

ABSTRACT Targeted charged alpha‐ and beta‐particle therapies are currently being used in clinical radiation treatments as newly developed methods for either killing or controlling tumor cell growth. The alpha particles can be generated either through a nuclear decay reaction or in situ by a nuclear fission reaction such as the boron neutron capture reaction. Different strategies have been employed to improve the selectivity and delivery of radiation dose to tumor cells based on the source of the clinically used alpha particles. As a result, the side effects of the treatment can be minimized. The increasing attention and research efforts on targeted alpha‐particle therapy have been fueled by exciting results of both academic research and clinical trials. It is highly anticipated that alpha‐particle therapy will improve the efficacy of treating malignant tumors. In this overview, we compare radionuclide drug conjugates (RDC) with boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) to present recent developments in targeted alpha‐particle therapy.