radium-224

Radium-224 is a radioactive isotope of radium that emits alpha particles and has a half-life of approximately 3.6 days. Historically, radium-224 chloride was used to treat ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid synovitis due to its bone-seeking properties and targeted alpha particle therapy, which destroys bone-involved inflammation and tumor cells with high linear energy transfer over very short distances. The compound is currently being investigated as Radium-224 RadSpherin, a suspension of radium-224 in biodegradable calcium carbonate microparticles, delivered intraperitoneally for metastatic cancers such as peritoneal carcinomatosis originating from ovarian and colorectal cancers. The mechanism relies on the cytotoxic effects of alpha radiation on nearby tumor cells after local administration, providing potent and selective anticancer activity with minimal systemic toxicity. Radium-224 and its salts are no longer marketed for bone diseases due to risks of leukaemia and bone sarcoma, but development as a radiopharmaceutical for compartment-targeted cancer therapy is ongoing, especially for metastatic disease within body cavities[1][2][3][5][8][9].

Brand names

RadSpherinPeteosthor224-SpondylAT

Other names

radium-224 chlorideradium224 chlorideradium 224 chloride224Ra-radium chloride[224Ra]RaCl2