Preface

In recent years the paradigm of "one-size-fits-all" in medicine has shifted successively to more patient-oriented treatment strategies [1, 2]. The aim of this personalized approach is to treat the right patient at the right time with the right drug to achieve maximum effect with minimal adverse effects. According to the definition of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, personalized medicine is "a form of medicine that uses information about a person's own genes or proteins to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease."

To meet this challenge, individual patient treatment and accurate diagnosis is indispensable. This includes, but is not limited to, characterization, staging, and quantification of the underlying disease, all of which guide physician decisions for optimal treatment planning. Beyond that, deeper knowledge and understanding of the individual properties and differences of the same disease in different patients paves the way for the development of tailored drugs and for the treatment of the individual patient's needs.

In this context, so-called theranostics has importance. Though the term was established in 2002 as a portmanteau of "therapy" and "diagnostics," the concept itself has been adopted elsewhere and explored for decades [3]. Originally describing "any material that combines the modalities of therapy and diagnostic imaging," theranostics now commonly refers to image-guided therapy [4].

Since the pioneering work of Saul Hertz (1905–1950), the father of theranostics, who first applied radioactive iodine for therapy in 1941 and influenced strongly the management paradigm for diseases of the thyroid [5], the field has evolved and expanded greatly. Growing knowledge about the genesis of a disease and more sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic techniques promote the research and development of new theranostic materials and, ultimately, drugs.

This book presents a selection of new developments in the area of theranostics and provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in this exciting discipline.

> **Elisabeth Eppard** Klinik für Radiologie und Nuklearmedizin/ Universitätsklinikum Magdeburg A.ö.R., Magdeburg, Germany

#### **References**

[1] La Thangue NB, Kerr DJ. Predictive biomarkers: a paradigm shift towards personalized cancer medicine. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2011; 8(10):587-96. Available from: URL: https://www.nature.com/ articles/nrclinonc.2011.121.

[2] Diamandis M, White NMA, Yousef GM. Personalized medicine: marking a new epoch in cancer patient management. Mol Cancer Res 2010; 8(9):1175-87. Available from: URL: https://mcr.aacrjournals.org/ content/8/9/1175.short.

[3] Reinventing pharma: the theranostic revolution; 2002.

[4] Luk BT, Zhang L. Current advances in polymer-based nanotheranostics for cancer treatment and diagnosis. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2014; 6(24):21859-73.

[5] Ehrhardt JD, Güleç S. Radyoaktif İyot Teranostiğinin Kısa Hikayesi: Nükleer Ontolojinin Kökenleri. Mol Imaging Radionucl Ther 2020; 29(3):88-97.

**1**

Section 1

Theranostic

Radiopharmaceuticals

Section 1
