Theranostics Explained

Cancer treatment has had three legs for a long time: chemotherapy, external-beam radiation, and immunotherapy. Theranostics is the fourth - a radioactive drug that finds the cancer on a scan and then treats it, using the same molecule twice with two different isotopes. This book takes you inside that fourth leg, one infusion at a time.Follow the Northshore Team - nuclear medicine physicians, radiopharmacists, and nurses - through every step of a modern theranostic treatment course.Inside you will learn:* The cancer treatment wall - the four legs, and the gap theranostics fills* What exactly is a theranostic pair - targeting molecule, chelator, isotope, and the scan-then-treat gate* How a theranostic drug finds cancer - infusion, receptor binding, internalization, DNA damage* The long road from radioactive iodine (1941) to Lutathera to Pluvicto - the chemistry that had to be invented* Theranostics vs chemo, external beam, and immunotherapy - where each one wins* Making a radioactive drug - reactors, cyclotrons, generators, the hot lab, the Lu-177 and Ac-225 bottleneck* How patients get treatment today - companion diagnostic, insurance in 2026, infusion day, home precautions* When theranostics falls short - the honest limits and how oncologists read a plateau* Beyond cancer - the emerging non-oncology use cases* The credible next decade - alpha emitters, new targets, and the combination playbookTen chapters. Physics first, hype-free. The nuclear-medicine field guide for anyone who wants to think clearly about targeted radiation.