MINUTE medical - Experts for Radionuclide Therapy Vienna

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MINUTE medical offers specific, personalized cancer therapies with the highest professional, and scientific competence in the heart of Vienna.

As a nuclear medicine institute, MINUTE medical specializes in therapy and diagnostics using radioligands. This innovative treatment is based in principle on the knowledge that certain tumor cells carry specific receptors on their surface, which can serve as docking stations for so-called radiopharmaceuticals. As a result, the tumor cells can be irradiated very effectively, and the damage to the surrounding tissue can be reduced to a minimum.

The technology, developed according to the latest scientific findings, is paired with personalized individual care, guaranteeing extremely discreet treatment.

The experts led by the internationally renowned scientists Prof. Dr Markus Hartenbach, Prof. Dr Alexander Haug, and Prof. Dr Wolfgang Wadsak undoubtedly pioneered this now-established technology.

Radioligand Therapy for Prostate Cancer

The ¹⁷⁷Lutetium-PSMA radioligand therapy is based on discovering that the degenerated cells of a prostate carcinoma present a very specific enzyme on the surface of their cell membrane. This prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) serves as a docking station, so to speak, for the ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA radioligands, which then exert their therapeutic effect through the radiating isotope of the chemical element lutetium. Depending on the severity and distribution pattern of the disease, Prof. Hartenbach's team also uses the alpha emitter actinium-225 instead of the beta emitter lutetium-177.

The radiation of these nuclides spreads only in a tiny radius of a few micrometers but is sufficient to effectively damage/destroy the cancer cell in question. Furthermore, collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue is minimal thanks to this precise navigation of the radiation source to the target cells. This is the reason for the enormous advantage over radioactive irradiation by an external, comparatively imprecise radiation source.

By replacing the therapeutic emitter (lutetium or actinium) with the positron emitter gallium-68, the radioligands can also be used for nuclear medicine diagnostics of the same target structure. In this way, therapy can be effectively monitored.

Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy for Neuroendocrine Tumors (PRRT).

Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) often respond to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). This treatment method also applies the finding that tumor cells of this type have so-called somatostatin receptors on the cell membrane in high abundance. The beta-emitter lutetium-177 has proven to be a therapeutic nuclide of choice in this therapy. Lutetium-177 is chemically fixed to the appropriate peptide (e.g., DOTA-TATE), a substance that fits like a "key" into the "lock," namely the somatostatin receptors on the tumor cells. This precise targeting of the radioligand allows the lutetium-177 to be navigated via the bloodstream directly to the cancer cells and destroy/damage them.

Radionuclide Therapy for Bone Metastases (Radium-223 Dichloride).

The principle of therapy with radionuclides is also very successful in bone metastases. Some tumors activate certain cell groups that are responsible for bone formation, the so-called osteoblasts. These are referred to as osteoblastic bone metastases. Osteoblasts typically embed calcium ions into the bone substance. If these bone-building cells are now offered radium ions, they are also embedded into the bone matrix due to their chemical relationship to calcium. The osteoblasts activated by the cancer are consequently effectively irradiated by self-embedded radium-223 dichloride. This also exerts its effect on the tumor cell through various mechanisms and, therefore, slows these metastases' progression.

Molecular Imaging: ⁶⁸Gallium PSMA-PET/CT for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and ⁶⁸Ga-Somatostatin Receptor PET/CT for Neuroendocrine Tumors

Innovative radioligand technology enables high-precision molecular diagnostic capabilities. As an indispensable component of radioligand therapy, it combines diagnostics and treatment into a new approach called "theranostics." This is because radiopharmaceuticals, i.e., radioactive drugs that bind precisely to the specific surface structures of cancer cells, can also be charged with purely imaging nuclides, such as gallium-68, for diagnostic purposes (so-called radiodiagnostics). Through intravenous administration and distribution in the body, increased accumulation in the target structures throughout the body can be detected by nuclear imaging. Thus, this whole-body imaging can visualize those tissues that are diseased or metastatic.

Additional Services

The architecturally sophisticated combination of functionality and the highest level of discretion was a key factor in establishing this state-of-the-art institution. To offer patients the highest level of comfort, additional organizational and medical services are also provided. The MINUTE medical team supports patients from arrival to departure and during their stay in Austria's historical capital to make the medically necessary stay in Vienna as pleasant as possible.

Patients also benefit directly from the most modern medical care in terms of interdisciplinary cooperation. MINUTE medical works in an expert network in close collaboration with renowned specialists in pathology, urology, oncology, and radiation/proton therapy to ensure patients' best possible treatment and diagnostics.

For more information, please visit the MINUTE medical website.