Abstract
Molecular imaging based personalized therapy has been a fascinating concept for individualized therapeutic strategy, which is able to attain the highest efficacy and reduce adverse effects in certain patients. Theranostics, which integrates diagnostic testing to detect molecular targets for particular therapeutic modalities, is one of the key technologies that contribute to the success of personalized medicine. Although the term “theranostics” was used after the second millennium, its basic principle was applied more than 70 years ago in the field of thyroidology with radioiodine molecular imaging. Differentiated thyroid cancer, which arises from follicular cells in the thyroid, is the most common endocrine malignancy, and theranostic radioiodine has been successfully applied to diagnose and treat differentiated thyroid cancer, the applications of which were included in the guidelines published by various thyroid or nuclear medicine societies. Through better pathophysiologic understanding of thyroid cancer and advancements in nuclear technologies, theranostic radioiodine contributes more to modern tailored personalized management by providing high therapeutic effect and by avoiding significant adverse effects in differentiated thyroid cancer. This review details the inception of theranostic radioiodine and recent radioiodine applications for differentiated thyroid cancer management as a prototype of personalized medicine based on molecular imaging.
Highlights
The term “theranostics” is portmanteau word of “therapeutics” and “diagnostics” and was coined by John Funkhouser (Chief Executive Officer of PharmaNetics) in 2002 to describe his company’s business model for developing diagnostic tests directly linked to the application of specific therapies [1, 2]
We began using the term “theranostics” after the second millennium, the basic principle of theranostics has been applied for some time in the field of thyroidology; radioiodine was used as the first theranostic agent [5]
Radioiodine theranostics is a typical example of personalized medicine and has been used extensively for the management of differentiated thyroid cancer [6, 7]
Summary
The term “theranostics” is portmanteau word of “therapeutics” and “diagnostics” and was coined by John Funkhouser (Chief Executive Officer of PharmaNetics) in 2002 to describe his company’s business model for developing diagnostic tests directly linked to the application of specific therapies [1, 2]. Radioiodine theranostics is a typical example of personalized medicine and has been used extensively for the management of differentiated thyroid cancer [6, 7]. Better understanding of thyroid cancer pathophysiology and advancements in bioengineering, electrical engineering, and radiochemical technologies have improved radioiodine theranostics, which contributes to a tailored personalized management system for differentiated thyroid cancer. This review details the inception of theranostic radioiodine as well as recent updates in radioiodine applications for differentiated thyroid cancer, which is a prototype of personalized medicine based on molecular imaging
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