Theranostics in Developing Countries: Addressing Challenges and Potentials from Training to Practice

In recent times, nuclear medicine (NM) has witnessed noteworthy expansion, presenting several technologies and procedures that aid in the identification and management of various illnesses and disorders. The current era of globalization has posed difficulties for health care systems in managing the escalating incidence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in developing countries.[1] The use of radionuclide pairs for both diagnosis and treatment, known as theranostics, has become increasingly popular in developing countries.[2] This is due to the availability of more resources, expertise, and personnel. Although the idea of combining therapy and diagnosis has been studied and utilized for many years, recent advancements in cancer genomics and hallmarks have led to significant progress in the field of theranostics over the past two decades. Nowadays, NM theranostics are improving the prognosis of cancer patients through the use of 177lutetium-based radionuclide therapies, which have been validated in phase III clinical trials with high confidence.[3] [4]