WebsEdge/Health

Theranostics is a relatively new approach to the treatment of cancer, combining targeted therapy based on targeted diagnostic tests. Scientists have been aware for 100 years that different cells in the human body contain receptors for different molecules. However, it’s only in recent decades that researchers have been able to combine reporting molecules with targeted therapy to isolate and destroy tumours with minimal damage to the human body. The Theranostics Center of Molecular Radiotherapy and Molecular Imaging at Zentralklinik Bad Berka in Germany has been providing state-of-the-art services in this field for almost 20 years. As one of the first centers of its kind, and the largest center of nuclear medicine in Germany, it now treats over 1000 patients a year coming from all over the world. The center began by treating patients with Neuroendocrine tumors using Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT). Using a multidisciplinary team including oncologists, radiotherapists and physicists, the center provides each patient over 100 cycles of treatment with no detectable toxicity. The center’s next major focus is prostate cancer. By labelling the PSMA small molecule found in most prostate cancers, the team are able to direct therapy to metastatic cells with increasing efficacy. This approach, known as Peptide-based Radioligand Therapy (PRLT) is providing patients with a much better quality of life than traditional approaches. Since the center’s founding, theranostics has started to become more common throughout the world, with facilities opening around America since it’s FDA approval. As one of the important founders of the field, and with new possibilities arising every day through the use of new molecules, the Theranostics Center at Bad Berka will continue to have a major impact on the lives of people all over the world.