Preprint Review Flags Reactor and Accelerator Bottlenecks Limiting Ac-225 and Cu-67 Supply for Cancer Therapy
This arXiv preprint synthesizes nuclear physics, radiochemistry, and clinical demand data to highlight specific production chokepoints. It argues that modest increases in high-current cyclotron time and new reactor target stations could unlock underused isotopes with demonstrated therapeutic indices. Evidence remains qualitative; quantitative modeling of supply elasticity is absent.
The review groups isotopes into established (Tc-99m, F-18, Lu-177), under-leveraged (Re-186, Sm-153), and frontier (Ac-225, At-211, Cu-67, Sc-47) tiers. It details how high-energy proton spallation on thorium targets yields Ac-225 at microgram scales while reactor production of Lu-177 via Yb-176 requires enriched targets that remain capacity-limited. Cross-referenced with IAEA supply reports and 2023-2025 clinical trial registries, the analysis shows that current global Ac-225 output supports fewer than 5,000 patient doses annually against projected demand exceeding 20,000.
Sources (2)
- [1]Primary Source(https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.08727)
- [2]Supporting Source(https://www.iaea.org/publications/14845/production-of-medical-radioisotopes)