Cancer theranostics links tumour imaging with targeted treatment

Cancer theranostics pairs diagnostic methods with treatment, using information about a tumour to guide therapy and assess its effects. In this review, the authors describe established approaches such as radiolabelled peptides that image cancer-cell receptors and deliver radionuclide treatment. They also broaden the discussion to locally and systemically applied nanotheranostics and microtheranostics, and to imaging-guided surgical interventions. The authors cite progress in target identification, probe design and imaging hardware, along with promising results from clinical trials, as grounds for expecting wider applications. The article is an overview, not a report of new clinical data; the supplied text gives no study population, sample size or quantitative outcomes. Its broad outlook should therefore be distinguished from evidence supporting any specific change in cancer treatment.