Attacking tumours directly on identification

Theranostics, the combination of "therapy" and "diagnostics," refers to drugs that are used not only to treat tumors but also to render them visible. The principle is as simple as it is ingenious: for example, in prostate cancer treatment, a prostate-specific antibody is radioactively labeled. Once the antibody has bound the prostate cancer cells, the radioactivity emitted by the theranostic agent is used to visualize the tumor and possible metastases, and at the same time it also has a damaging effect on the cancer cells at the target site.

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