Current Theranostic Applications in Nuclear Medicine

Current Theranostic Applications in Nuclear Medicine

Radiotheranostic -a combination of “therapy” and “diagnostics” – uses both imaging technology and targeted therapies to identify and treat primary malignant tumors and metastasis.  Moreover, radiotheranostic is a personalised approach to treating cancer, combines molecular imaging (primarily PET and SPECT) with targeted radionuclide therapy, typically with radionuclides that emit α-, β- or auger-radiation.

Radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment is one of the earliest and well known targeted theranostic applications for the management of certain types of thyroid cancer.

PSMA PET/CT imaging with Ga-68 PET&CT and Lutetium-177 or Ac-225  therapy which use Type 2 integral membrane glycoprotein PSMA-11 to bind to the over expressed PSMA (Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen) in castration-resistant prostate cancers, peptide (DOTA / DOTATATE / NOC) imaging with Ga-68 PET&CT and Lutetium-177 or Ac-225 peptide therapy which use somotostatin receptors on the surface of Neuroendocrine Tumors are widely used radiotheranostic applications.

FAPİ imaging with Ga-68 PET&CT and Lutetium-177 or Ac-225 FAPİ therapy which use cancer-associated fibroblasts may be an another powerful tool for some specific types of cancers which show low FDG uptake such as pancreas cancer, mucinous types of cancers, lobular breast carcinoma etc.

Radiotheranostics show promising clinical benefits in cancer patients who fail chemotherapy or external radiation therapy, and personalized treatment and radiotheranostic approaches are expected to be used in many different tumors in the near future.