St. Luke’s University Health Network has expanded its advanced cancer treatment capabilities with the opening of the St. Luke’s Theranostics Center at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus, a dedicated facility designed to provide patients with access to some of the most innovative targeted cancer therapies available today.

The new center features four private infusion bays designed specifically for patients receiving theranostic treatments. Colocated with St. Luke’s Nuclear Medicine department, the center allows patients to receive consultations, imaging and treatment in one convenient, coordinated location.

Historically, nuclear medicine has been used to diagnose and treat disease. More recently, modern theranostics has evolved through the development of sophisticated imaging agents and targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies that have significantly expanded treatment options for cancer patients.

Theranostics is an innovative approach to cancer care that combines advanced imaging and targeted treatment using specialized radioactive medicines. The term combines the words therapy and diagnostics, reflecting a process in which physicians use one radiopharmaceutical to identify and evaluate the extent of the disease throughout the body and then use a related radiopharmaceutical to deliver treatment directly to those same cells throughout the body.

“Theranostics is a personalized approach to cancer care that helps us identify disease, determine whether a patient is a candidate for treatment and then deliver therapy directly to cancer cells using paired radioactive particles and molecules that stick to the cancer cells themselves,” said Dr. Edgar Cheng, MD, diagnostic radiologist and SLUHN Division Chief of Nuclear Medicine. “It enables us to treat cancer with remarkable precision while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues.

The center’s physician team includes Dr. Cheng, Dr. Jay Riccardi and Dr. Steven Yang, all board-certified diagnostic radiologists with specialized expertise in nuclear medicine.

Patients receiving care through this program are supported by a multidisciplinary team that includes clinical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, radiopharmaceutical therapy specialists, imaging technologists, and registered nurses.

The patient journey begins with a comprehensive consultation and education session, during which the care team explains the treatment process, discusses radiation safety precautions and answers patient questions. Depending on the prescribed therapy and the type of cancer being treated, patients may receive a series of infusions over several months. Following treatment, patients return for follow-up imaging, laboratory testing and ongoing care coordination with their oncologist and other members of the cancer care team.

Currently, the St. Luke’s Theranostics Center treats patients with:

• Low grade neuroendocrine tumors, a group of uncommon cancers that develop in neuroendocrine cells found throughout the body, most commonly in the digestive tract, pancreas and lungs.

• Prostate cancer, particularly advanced forms that can be targeted using specialized radioligand therapies. Radioligand therapy is a targeted cancer treatment that uses a molecule to deliver radiation directly to cancer cells.

• Certain thyroid cancers, building upon St. Luke’s long-standing experience with radioactive iodine treatments.

The center currently offers FDA-approved radioligand therapies including Xofigo, Lutathera and Pluvicto for eligible patients.

Since 2022, the program has been designated a Clinical Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Center of Excellence by the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, making it one of approximately 40 programs nationwide to earn the distinction and the only center in the region.