Theranostics

Theranostics, also known as theragnostics, is a technique commonly used in personalised medicine. For example in nuclear medicine, one radioactive drug is used to identify (diagnose) and a second radioactive drug is used to treat (therapy) cancerous tumors. In other words, theranostics combines radionuclide imaging and radiation therapy which targets specific biological pathways.

Technologies used for theranostic imaging include radiotracers, contrast agents, positron emission tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. It has been used to treat thyroid cancer and neuroblastomas.

The term "theranostic" is a portmanteau of two words, therapeutic and diagnostic, thus referring to a combination of diagnosis and treatment that also allows for continuing medical assessment of a patient. The first known use of the term is attributed to John Funkhouser, a consultant for the company Cardiovascular Diagnostic, who used it in a press release in August 1998.

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