%0 Journal Article %A Lilja Solnes %A Rudolf Werner %A Krystyna M. Jones %A Mohammad S. Sadaghiani %A Christopher R. Bailey %A Constantin Lapa %A Martin G. Pomper %A Steven P. Rowe %T Theranostics: Leveraging Molecular Imaging and Therapy to Impact Patient Management and Secure the Future of Nuclear Medicine %D 2020 %R 10.2967/jnumed.118.220665 %J Journal of Nuclear Medicine %P jnumed.118.220665 %X Nuclear medicine is experiencing a renaissance with recent FDA approval of theranostics and a wide variety of such agents soon to impact patient care significantly in the era of precision medicine. The NETTER-1 trial demonstrated the therapeutic effect of a theranostic agent in markedly improving progression free survival in patients with metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Retrospective studies have demonstrated a significant response to 177Lu-labeled agents targeting PSMA in patients with prostate cancer. At least two prospective clinical trials involving Lu-PSMA agents are under way that will likely pave the way for FDA approval in the United States. A significant upside to theranostics is that patients tend to tolerate those agents better than chemotherapy. Theranostic compounds are likely to impact many cancers in the near future, not only through improvements in quality of life but also in terms of survival. This manuscript provides an overview of already approved agents as well as those on the horizon. It is important that as these agents are clinically onboarded that nuclear medicine, in which they were discovered and first implemented, be at the helm. Nuclear medicine physicians have the expertise to deploy theranostics safely and efficiently, ensuring that these agents attain and maintain their rightful positions as leading lines of therapy in managing patients with cancer. %U https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/jnumed/early/2020/01/09/jnumed.118.220665.full.pdf