The evolving field of theranostics is poised to broaden treatment options for millions of cancer patients, according to one GE Healthcare leader.
“Theranostics is the combination of diagnostics and therapy — but it’s much deeper than that,” said Sergio Calvo, global general manager of theranostics at GE Healthcare, during an interview at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual conference last week in Chicago.
Calvo defined theranostics as a targeted therapy approach that uses molecular imaging to visualize the same biological target that the drug is designed to treat. Essentially, doctors scan for a molecular marker on cancer cells and then deliver a drug that binds to that receptor, allowing them to see and treat the disease in a connected loop.
Theranostics isn’t brand new — the concept dates back to Marie Curie and early radioiodine use for thyroid cancer. However, it is experiencing a growth spurt and renaissance now, positioning this method as a major innovation for cancer care, Calvo said.
Not only does this approach make it easier for clinicians to track whether a therapy is reaching its intended target, but it also yields fewer side effects than traditional radiation. The radiation is highly targeted to cancer cells, so patients experience little nausea, no hair loss and low toxicity, Calvo explained.
Two theranostic drugs are already approved by the FDA— one for neuroendocrine tumors, the other for prostate cancer — and dozens more are in development, he noted. He expects widespread global growth in this domain.
“In the United States and around the world in the next 10 years, this is going to grow 20-fold,” Calvo remarked.
Hospitals are increasingly investing in theranostics, but significant infrastructure build-out is still needed to scale the use of theranostics, he added.
GE Healthcare plays a role in advancing this field not by developing the drugs — but rather by building the imaging and software infrastructure that makes theranostics possible.
For instance, the company makes a PET scanner that can image small radiation doses and complete a scan in seconds instead of minutes, Calvo pointed out. And last year, GE Healthcare acquired MIM Software, an image reading and planning platform that segments disease and helps clinicians assess a patient’s response to treatment.
If rapid technological advances and growing hospital investment continue, theranostics could become a mainstream tool in oncology, potentially saving millions of lives, Calvo declared.
Photo: koto_feja, Getty Images
