Synthesis and automated fluorine-18 radiolabeling of new PSMA-617 derivatives with a CuAAC radiosynthetic approach

In the last decade, the development of new radiopharmaceuticals for the imaging and therapy of prostate cancer has been a highly active and important area of research, especially focusing on the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), an antigen which is upregulated in prostate, as well as in other tumor cells. A large variety of PSMA ligands have been radiolabeled, to date. Among the various derivatives, PSMA-617 resulted to be one of the most interesting in terms of interaction with the antigen and clinical properties, and its lutetium-177 labeled version has recently been approved by regulatory agencies for therapeutic purposes. For this reasons, the radiolabeling with fluorine-18 of a PSMA-617 derivative might be of interest. Beside other methodologies to radiolabel macromolecules with fluorine-18, the “click-chemistry” approach resulted to be very useful, and the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) is considered one of most efficient and reliable. This paper proposes the synthesis of a suitable precursor for the radiolabeling with fluorine-18 of a new PSMA-617 derivative. The whole radiosynthetic procedure has been fully automated, and the final product, which proved to be stable in plasma, has been obtained with radiochemical yield and purity suitable for subsequent preclinical studies.     

Covid-19 Infection in Cancer Patients: The Management in a Diagnostic Unit

BackgroundCOVID-19 infection is particularly aggressive in frail patients, as cancer patients. Therefore, the more suitable management of the oncological patient requires a multidisciplinary assessment, to identify which patients should be treated, as inpatients or outpatients, and which treatments can be procrastinated.ConclusionsThe role of radiologist is crucial, and, all cancer patients who need an imaging evaluation will need to be studied, using the most appropriate imaging tools related to the clinical question and paying a special attention to preserve public health. Guidelines are necessary in the correct organization of a radiology unit to manage patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection, and whenever possible, a satellite radiography center with dedicated equipment should be used to decrease the transmission risk.Key words: COVID-19 infection, cancer patients, diagnostic unit, management, guideline     

Idoneit al lavoro in operatore dei corpi di polizia in trattamento per OSAS

Fitness for working in a policeman being treated for OSAS. A policeman who has been ill with OSAS for 10 years is in optimal CPAP therapy. During this time, the overall assessment of his work activities was excellent and he had no traffic accidents or accidents at work. Concerning his work as a policeman, the Medical Commission of 1st instance considered him unfit to work. Conversely, the Medical Commission of 2nd instance declared him fit to work. In the adult general population, the prevalence of moderate and severe OSAS is more than 20%. It is therefore likely that there are many policemen affected by OSAS and the number of requests for assessments of fitness to work in those with OSAS will increase. It is a priority: (i) to integrate the training course of the medical staff of the Police Forces and the Armed Forces with updates on OSAS; (ii) to delete OSAS from the list of chronic diseases for which night shift work is not indicated.Key words: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, fitness for work, public health