Find clear answers about Targeted Radionuclide Therapy (TRT), how to access treatment, and how the Oncidium foundation and its programs work. If you are missing any information or want to know more about our foundation, our projects, or radiotheranostics, please do not hesitate to contact us.
No. TRT is not suitable for every patient or every cancer.
Oncidium’s advocacy work focuses on access and healthcare systems. Decisions about whether TRT is appropriate for an individual patient remain with qualified healthcare professionals and the patient.
The department works around three main priorities:
Across all three, the aim is to better understand patient needs and the barriers that affect access to TRT.
The Experts by Experience Task Force brings together patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals to help guide the work of Oncidium’s Patient Advocacy & Policy Department.
Members help identify important questions, highlight gaps in information and provide perspectives from different healthcare systems and lived experiences.
Our approach is to work alongside patients rather than only speaking for them.
Patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals contribute directly through initiatives such as the Experts by Experience Task Force and other patient engagement activities.
Health policy refers to the decisions, rules and frameworks that influence how healthcare is organised, funded and delivered.
For TRT, this may include questions related to reimbursement, infrastructure, referral pathways and how new treatments are integrated into cancer care.
Patient advocacy aims to make sure that the experiences, needs and priorities of patients are considered in discussions and decisions that affect their care.
At Oncidium, this means working alongside patients and caregivers to better understand barriers to TRT and bringing these insights into wider conversations about access and healthcare policy.
Donations support the foundation's mission to improve access to Targeted Radionuclide Therapy, including the RLT-Connect treatment donation program and its education and access work.
The Tackle Cancer Challenge is the Oncidium foundation's global sports challenge. Participants walk, run, or cycle to raise awareness and funds that support access to treatment through RLT-Connect.
There are several ways to help. You can make a donation, join the Tackle Cancer Challenge, become an Ambassador, or partner with us as an organisation. Every contribution helps improve access to TRT for patients who need it.
Have your most recent medical documents ready in electronic format.
This usually includes :
Having these ready helps the center understand your situation quickly.
No. Patients cannot register themselves or request a dose. The request must come from a healthcare professional at a hospital that is able to deliver the treatment. If you think TRT may be relevant, speak with your medical team.
Cost and reimbursement vary widely by country, center, and indication. In some places TRT is reimbursed, in others it is paid out of pocket. If cost is the barrier and the necessary infrastructure exists, ask your healthcare professional about RLT-Connect, our treatment donation program.
Availability depends on local approval, infrastructure, and reimbursement, which vary widely from one country to another. The treatment center map is a useful starting point, and the center can confirm what applies to your situation.
Use our interactive treatment center map to search by country, cancer type, and imaging. Centers register themselves to appear on the map, so always confirm availability, eligibility, and reimbursement directly with the center and your physician.
Start by discussing it with your oncologist or nuclear medicine specialist, who can assess whether it may be relevant for you and refer you if appropriate. You can also use our treatment center map to see where TRT may be available.
Lutetium-177 (177Lu) is a therapeutic radionuclide widely used in Targeted Radionuclide Therapy. It is attached to a targeting molecule so that radiation is delivered mainly to cancer cells that carry the matching target.
TRT is designed to focus radiation on cancer cells while limiting exposure to healthy tissue. Like any cancer treatment, it can cause side effects, which vary depending on the therapy, the cancer, and the individual. Your medical team is the right source to explain the possible benefits and risks in your specific situation.
TRT is currently used or being studied in several cancers. The most established examples include prostate cancer, often using a target called PSMA, and neuroendocrine tumours (NET), using a form known as PRRT. Research continues into other indications. Whether TRT is appropriate depends on the individual diagnosis and imaging, and is always decided with the medical team.
These terms are closely related.
Radiotheranostics combines diagnostics and therapy through the same molecular target. An imaging agent, used with PET or SPECT, shows whether the target is present in the body (See it), and when appropriate, a therapeutic version delivers treatment to those same cells (Treat it). This is the principle behind Targeted Radionuclide Therapy (TRT).
Targeted Radionuclide Therapy (TRT) is a cancer treatment that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells while sparing much of the surrounding healthy tissue. It pairs a targeting molecule, which recognises a specific feature on cancer cells, with a radionuclide. TRT is part of a wider approach called radiotheranostics, summed up as "See it. Treat it.": the same targeting principle is used first with imaging to locate the disease, and then to treat it. It is used or studied in several cancers, including prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours. Whether it is suitable for a patient is always decided with the medical team.
No. The Oncidium foundation is a facilitator. It does not diagnose, prescribe, or administer treatment, and it does not select or endorse treatment centers. All medical decisions stay with the patient and their care team.
The Oncidium foundation is based in Belgium and operates internationally, with an ambassador network active across many countries.
The foundation connects the different actors needed for TRT to actually reach patients, from patients and clinicians to hospitals, industry, and health authorities. It does this through programs such as RLT-Connect, the treatment center map, the Ambassador Network, educational resources, and advocacy work on access and reimbursement.
The Oncidium foundation is a Belgian public-interest foundation with an international mission: to improve equitable access to Targeted Radionuclide Therapy (TRT) in cancer care, for everyone, everywhere. It works across awareness, education, access to treatment, advocacy, partnerships, and research.
A collaborative platform implemented by the Oncidium foundation to enable radioligand therapy treatments for patients who cannot afford it in countries that already have the infrastructure to deliver such therapies.
The RLT-Connect platform connects healthcare practitioners and Radioisotope companies that donate Radioisotope doses to provide radioligand therapy for those who cannot otherwise afford it.
The RLT-Connect platform is an Oncidium foundation initiative. Oncidium is acting as a facilitator, connecting and establishing an effective, operational ecosystem among HCPs, Radioisotope companies, and local radiopharmacies to provide donated doses to patients who cannot afford treatment costs. Oncidium’s role is limited to:
Clinical Sites
Local Radiopharmacies
Isotope suppliers
Currently, RLT-Connect is only mediating about donated doses for treatment, not Imaging or diagnostic tests.
The objective of the program is to create a connection between the parties, and everyone involved is donating something. The supplier donates the doses, the Radiopharmacy usually covers the costs of logistics/import and labelling, and the hospital covers the costs of Imaging and hospitalization.
Healthcare professionals, in countries where the necessary infrastructure is already implemented to deliver the doses to the patients. Moreover, patients cannot register themselves to seek a dose, the request should come from the hospital that can deliver the treatment.
What’s more, once the donation is approved, doses are donated by the Radioisotopes Companies and directly to the centers and will not transit through the Oncidium foundation.
The Hospital that is requesting the dose. The order of donated dose by the Radiopharmacy, follows the same process as commercial ones.
Once the donation is approved, doses are donated by the radioisotopes companies directly to the hospitals and will not transit through the Oncidium foundation.
The physician responsible for the request will change the request on the platform to the actual need. The excess doses will be redirected to another patient in need, ensuring efficient use of resources.
An Ad Hoc committee set up by the Oncidium foundation, composed of field specialists.
Usually, we must request the suppliers at least 20 days in advance. Nevertheless, suppliers may have different requirements.
The importation and logistics of the 177LuCl dose will follow the same process as already done by your center for commercial doses. The Oncidium foundation does not intermediate these processes.
Yes. All centers that are actively treating patients with radiopharmaceuticals 177Lu, 131I (or other radioisotopes under request) can sign the agreement
The agreement with Oncidium includes the non-exclusivity article. Hence, both Oncidium and the hospital are free to establish an agreement offering related services to other healthcare professionals and institutions.
Local radiopharmacies are indicated at the moment of registration by the healthcare professional who signs up on the platform. They can be internal radiopharmacies to the hospital or collaborating external structures.
The Radiopharmacy will be requested to sign an RLT-Connect agreement specific to radiopharmacies.