Theranostics
Equity Health Services plans to invest in the establishment of the first comprehensive Theranostic Facility in Calgary, Canada. The facility will house state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging (i.e. PET Scanners, CPEC/CT, PET/MR), two Cyclotrons, a radio-pharmacy, and cutting-edge radio nucleotide-based treatments.
Theranostics is an innovative and targeted healthcare delivery approach, especially useful in oncology as it facilitates the identification of primary tumors and metastases while sparing healthy tissue. Recently, radio-nucleotide treatment has emerged as a highly effective modality for several cancers, receiving approval for neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer. It is now being applied to other sub-specialties such as neurology and cardiology, expanding its potential reach in patient care
Theranostics provides a precision medicine approach to identify and treat cancer
Steps of treatment
A diagnostic radiolabeled molecule is injected into the patient to circulate throughout the body. It will bind specifically to tumor cells.
Doctors then scan the patient using PET/CT to detect the radioactivity; the signals on the images indicate tumor locations.
The PET/CT images are analyzed, and a treatment plan formulated. Then a therapeutic radiolabeled molecule is injected into the patient, where it again circulates binds tumor cells, and, in this case, destroys them.
Doctors then scan the patient using PET/CT again to see the results. A reduction in the signal on the images indicates a reduction in tumor burden. Patients experience little-to-no side effects.
