Drug precursor targeting the bombesin receptor for peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. A promising modality for cancer treatment is peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. Therapeutic radionuclide is delivered using peptide-based vectors, which can bind to specific receptors on the cancer cell surface. Bombesin receptors are one of the receptors peculiar to many types of cancer, which can be targeted by peptide vectors. Peptides have a number of advantages, but they also have one serious drawback: low stability in the internal environment. To solve the problem, it is possible to the include a therapeutic peptide in the structure of a highly stable knottin peptide.