Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences Introduces Next-Generation Prostate Cancer Therapy 'Pluvicto' Outside Seoul Metropolitan Area for the First Time

Attacking Only Cancer Cells, Ensuring Safer Treatment with Fewer Side Effects
Offering Hope to Prostate Cancer Patients Resistant to Conventional Therapies

Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (Director: Lee Changhoon) has become the first institution outside the Seoul metropolitan area to begin full-scale treatment with the next-generation prostate cancer therapy 'Pluvicto' as of May 29, marking a new milestone in advanced cancer care for the region.

Pluvicto is a targeted radioligand therapy developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis. It selectively binds to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), delivering internal radiation that precisely attacks only cancer cells. Nicknamed 'radiation-guided missile therapy,' it is recognized as a new-generation treatment that offers superior accuracy and safety compared to conventional chemotherapy.

This therapy is applied to patients with end-stage metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who do not respond to both traditional androgen receptor pathway inhibitors and taxane-based chemotherapies, provided that PSMA positivity is confirmed by PET/CT imaging.

Lee Hongje, head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine, stated, "Previously, this treatment was only available at a limited number of major hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area. Now, patients in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam can receive state-of-the-art care without the need for long-distance travel. Given the high proportion of elderly patients with prostate cancer, this will especially help improve both access to treatment and patient compliance."

Pluvicto received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2022, and was officially introduced in Korea after being approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in May 2024.

Since September 2023, Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences has directly produced and supplied the radiopharmaceutical (Ga-68 PSMA-11) necessary for PSMA-targeted diagnostics, which is a prerequisite for Pluvicto therapy. The institute is recognized as a leading example of implementing 'theranostics'?a next-generation cancer treatment strategy that integrates diagnosis and therapy?in the regional medical field.

Director Lee Changhoon emphasized, "As a regional public medical institution, our efforts to close the gap in advanced cancer treatment, which has been centered on the Seoul metropolitan area, have finally borne fruit. We will continue to drive medical innovation so that patients with serious diseases can receive rapid and precise treatment within their own region."

Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences is a specialized radiation therapy institution equipped with advanced cancer care infrastructure, including precision cancer diagnostics, targeted therapies, and radiopharmaceutical development. The institute is also pursuing various public healthcare projects to enhance cancer treatment accessibility and realize medical welfare for local residents.