Vascular targeted radioimmunotherapy with 213Bi--an alpha-particle emitter.

To destroy both tumor blood vessels and adjacent tumor cells, an alpha-particle emitter, 213Bi, has been targeted with a monoclonal antibody (MAb) to vessels that feed lung tumors in mice. Animals, bearing approximately 100 EMT-6 carcinomas each of 50-400 cells in size in the lung, that were treated with 120 muCi of 213Bi-MAb 201B were all cured of their disease. Animals treated when tumors were larger (10(3)-10(4) cells) had extended life spans, but a small number of residual tumors eventually killed the animals. Significant extension of life span was also induced with another tumor model-rat tracheal carcinoma growing in the lungs of SCID mice that were then treated with 136 muCi 213Bi-MAb 201B. These studies indicate that attack of both blood vessels and tumor cells simultaneously is an effective mode of cancer treatment.