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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.08.19.745876

Computational Pathology and Spatial Microdosimetry Guide Radiopharmaceutical Selection for TROP2-Targeted Alpha versus Beta Radionuclide Drug Conjugates (RDCs)

Chi, W. Y.
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Abstract

Background: Trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2, encoded by TACSTD2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed in multiple aggressive epithelial carcinomas. While antibody drug conjugates targeting TROP2 have achieved regulatory approvals, acquired payload resistance and systemic off-target toxicities limit sustained remissions. Radionuclide Drug Conjugates (RDCs) represent a potent alternative modality capable of delivering cytotoxic ionizing radiation directly to target cells. However, selecting the optimal therapeutic radioisotope between long-range beta emitters (177Lu) and short-range, high linear energy transfer (LET) alpha emitters (225Ac) under heterogeneous TROP2 spatial distributions remains an unaddressed clinical challenge. Methods: We developed an automated computational pathology and spatial microdosimetry pipeline to resolve microscopic TROP2 expression gradients and simulate absorbed radiation dose distributions from digitized whole-tissue immunohistochemistry (IHC) sections (N = 14). Optical density matrices were de-convoluted in Hematoxylin-Eosin-DAB (HED) color space to isolate the DAB chromogen. Continuous 2D spatial density distributions and topological surface profiles were reconstructed. Physical radiation energy deposition was modeled using radial dose point kernels for 177Lu (mean range ~670 m, LET 0.2 keV/m) and 225Ac (mean range ~65 m, LET 100 keV/m, 4 alpha particles per decay cascade). Therapeutic Index (TI, ratio of mean target to non-target absorbed dose), target coverage, and spatial specificity were quantified across all specimens. Results: Quantitative image deconvolution revealed that TROP2 expression across the cohort was characteristically focal and clustered, with a mean positive area fraction of 1.55 +/- 2.22% (range: 0.08% to 6.85%) and mean DAB signal intensity of 0.256 +/- 0.043. In all 14 evaluated specimens (100%), 225Ac-labeled RDCs demonstrated superior tumor-to-stroma dose localization compared to 177Lu-labeled RDCs. The cohort-wide mean Therapeutic Index was significantly higher for 225Ac (1.26 +/- 0.14) than for 177Lu (1.01 +/- 0.02, p < 0.0001, paired two-tailed t-test). Because the path length of 177Lu beta particles exceeded target cell nest dimensions by up to 30-fold, 177Lu suffered from severe off-target crossfire spillover into antigen-negative stroma. In contrast, 225Ac confined high-LET ionization tracks strictly within the micro-geographic boundaries of TROP2-expressing clusters. Conclusions: In tumors displaying focal or sparse TROP2 micro-architecture, Targeted Alpha Therapy with 225Ac-RDCs offers a superior biophysical profile over beta-emitting 177Lu-RDCs, maximizing cluster cell kill while sparing adjacent normal tissue stroma. This computational microdosimetry framework provides a practical tool to guide rational isotope pairing in RDC drug design.

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Chi, W. Y.. 2026-08-25. Computational Pathology and Spatial Microdosimetry Guide Radiopharmaceutical Selection for TROP2-Targeted Alpha versus Beta Radionuclide Drug Conjugates (RDCs). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.19.745876

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