OncoTargets and Therapy (Oct 2017)

Theranostics in nuclear medicine practice

  • Yordanova A,
  • Eppard E,
  • Kürpig S,
  • Bundschuh RA,
  • Schönberger S,
  • Gonzalez-Carmona M,
  • Feldmann G,
  • Ahmadzadehfar H,
  • Essler M

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 10
pp. 4821 – 4828

Abstract

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Anna Yordanova,1 Elisabeth Eppard,2 Stefan Kürpig,2 Ralph A Bundschuh,3 Stefan Schönberger,4 Maria Gonzalez-Carmona,5 Georg Feldmann,6 Hojjat Ahmadzadehfar,1 Markus Essler1 1Department of Nuclear Medicine (Clinical Nuclear Medicine), 2Department of Nuclear Medicine (Radiochemistry), 3Department of Nuclear Medicine (Medical Physics and PET), 4Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, 5Department of Medicine 1, 6Department of Medicine 3, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany Abstract: The importance of personalized medicine has been growing, mainly due to a more urgent need to avoid unnecessary and expensive treatments. In nuclear medicine, the theranostic approach is an established tool for specific molecular targeting, both for diagnostics and therapy. The visualization of potential targets can help predict if a patient will benefit from a particular treatment. Thanks to the quick development of radiopharmaceuticals and diagnostic techniques, the use of theranostic agents has been continually increasing. In this article, important milestones of nuclear therapies and diagnostics in the context of theranostics are highlighted. It begins with a well-known radioiodine therapy in patients with thyroid cancer and then progresses through various approaches for the treatment of advanced cancer with targeted therapies. The aim of this review was to provide a summary of background knowledge and current applications, and to identify the advantages of targeted therapies and imaging in nuclear medicine practices. Keywords: theranostics, nuclear medicine, personalized medicine, PET/CT, therapy, diagnostics

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