Reston, VA (December 8, 2025) As nuclear medicine theranostics expands rapidly across clinical practice worldwide, a new supplement to the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (JNMT) explores how nuclear medicine technologists are embracing their growing role within the field. Titled, Building the Future of Theranostics: Advancing Practice, Education, and Innovation Worldwide, the supplement brings together voices from across the globe, offering perspectives that span clinical lessons, educational frameworks, operational strategies, advocacy, equity, and biology.
From the early use of radioiodine to the expanding reach of prostate-specific membrane antigen and somatostatin receptor radiopharmaceutical therapies, theranostics has become a defining feature of modern nuclear medicine, said Kathy S. Thomas, MHA, CNMT, PET, FSNMMI-TS, JNMT editor-in-chief. The contributions in this supplement highlight not only where theranostics is today but also where it must go tomorrow.
The supplement covers several key areas of focus: clinical lessons and models for practice; education, workforce, and competence; science, technology, and artificial intelligence; multidisciplinary collaboration and radiopharmacy practice; equity, access, and collaboration; tumor biology and the expanding scope of theranostics; and new frontiers of theranostics beyond oncology. It also examines finance and sustainability, policy, strategy, and future directions.
Guest editor Julie Dawn Bolin, MS, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, assembled this supplement, which features leading theranostics experts in the field of nuclear medicine technology. Articles include:
The Current Practice of Theranostics: Results of a National Survey and Lessons Learned
Victoria West
West reviews how institutions implement 177Lu-DOTA-TATE therapy and 177Lu-PSMA-617 therapy in clinical practice.
Framing Theranostic Protocols: Development, Implementation, and Insights from Clinical Practice
Victoria West
West outlines the development and implementation of detailed protocols at Oregon Health and Science University to support patient care, regulatory compliance, staff training, and reproducible workflows for therapy administration and imaging.
Establishing Radiopharmaceutical Centers of Excellence
Prue Lamerton
Lamerton outlines in detail the SNMMI Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Center of Excellence designation, including its tiers, criteria, and practical blueprint for establishing new radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) centers. The New Zealand center is presented as a practical framework for building a center that adheres to the country s rules and regulations.
Radiation Dosimetry in Theranostics: A Review
Pat Zanzonico
Zanzonio discusses how theranostics with personalized RPT, based on the maximum tolerated dose to the therapy-limiting tissue and/or the prescribed dose to the target tissue, offers the important advantages of lower toxicity and/or greater efficacy compared to fixed-administered activity radiopharmaceutical therapy, but requires time-consuming, technically challenging patient measurements and analyses.
Theranostic Education and Training
Paul Searfoss
Searfoss highlights the critical importance of comprehensive training and education in theranostics to ensure high-quality patient care and adherence to regulatory standards.
UAB/SNMMI Nuclear Medicine Therapy Intensive: Advancing Competence and Innovation in Radiopharmaceutical Therapy
Amy Brady
Brady describes how the Nuclear Medicine Therapy Intensive, launched by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and SNMMI in 2024, helps address the urgent demand for advanced training beyond foundational nuclear medicine education.
Beyond the Department: Strategies for Educating Non-Nuclear Medicine Professionals and Future Colleagues About Theranostics
Sarah CV Holt
Holt identifies key non-nuclear medicine stakeholders, highlights methods of disseminating important information to those identified groups and establishes tangible processes for assessing competency in theranostics treatments for those with hands-on involvement.
Using Smartsheet to Streamline Competency Tracking and Onboarding for Nuclear Medicine Technologists
Julie Bolin
Bolin describes how Oregon Health & Science University has implemented Smartsheet, a collaborative work management platform, to organize, document, and streamline onboarding and competency tracking for technologists in nuclear medicine, PET/CT, RPT, and CT.
Role and Qualifications of Nuclear Medicine Technologists on the Theranostic Team
Cybil Nielsen
Nielson shares how nuclear medicine technologists serve as essential members of the theranostic team, integrating technical proficiency with direct patient care to ensure the safe and effective delivery of radiopharmaceutical therapies.
Theranostics in Practice: Lessons Learned from Clinical Perspectives - Part 1
Fernando Anleu
Anleu discusses what nuclear medicine technologists have learned so far through both clinical and operational experience. He focuses on real-world challenges and solutions that have come up while working with patients, supporting colleagues, and building programs that are effective and sustainable.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Theranostics
Geoff Currie
Currie reviews ongoing challenges that must be considered in development and application of AI tools in theranostics.
Challenges and Opportunities in Radioligand Theranostics
Geoff Currie
Currie discusses challenges and opportunities in the realization of precision medicine through radioligand theranostics.
The Nuclear Pharmacist's Perspective
Kara Weatherman
Weatherman highlights the evolution of radiopharmacy in regard to theranostics, the specialized training of clinical nuclear pharmacists, and their expanding role in patient-centered care.
Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Theranostics Around the World - Integration of Care Teams
Kunthi Pathmaraj
Pathmaraj provides a global perspective on how multidisciplinary teams deliver theranostic care in diverse healthcare systems, with contributions from experts across Asia, Europe, South Africa, Australia, Latin America, and the United States.
Access to Radiopharmaceuticals in English-Speaking African Countries
Sarah Mosima
Mosima identifies gaps in access to radiopharmaceuticals among English-speaking African countries, explains why these gaps occur, and shares plans to strengthen access to radiopharmaceuticals.
Advocacy in Theranostics: Expanding Access and Awareness Across Disciplines
Sarah Gibbons
Gibbons details barriers that limit equitable patient access to theranostic services, such as geographic disparities, workforce shortages, regulatory burden, inadequate infrastructure, high costs, and low awareness among providers.
Tumor Differentiation and the Role of Nuclear Medicine Scintigraphy and Therapy
Julie Bolin
Bolin examines how tumor differentiation shapes theranostic strategy across thyroid, neuroendocrine, and prostate cancers, with particular attention to the inverse association between tumor differentiation and glucose metabolism.
Theranostics Beyond Oncology: Emerging Applications
Sara L. Johnson
Johnson discusses the emerging non-oncologic applications of theranostics, highlighting current research and future potential.
Theranostics Finances and Coding of Today and a Look Forward
Dmitry Beyder
Beyder provides a comprehensive overview of the current financial landscape, coding and reimbursement strategies, and long-term planning considerations required to financially support theranostics clinical programs in the United States.
Theranostics Stakeholder Summit
Cathy Cutler
Cutler shares a synopsis of the SNMMI Theranostics Stakeholder Summit, held May 1-3, 2025, where more than 100 stakeholders came together to develop a path forward to ensure that the enormous potential for theranostics for patients could be realized.
The JNMT supplement, Building the Future of Theranostics: Advancing Practice, Education, and Innovation Worldwide, is available at https://tech.snmjournals.org/content/53/Supplement_1.
Visit the JNMT website for the latest research, and follow our new Twitter and Facebook pages @JournalofNucMed or follow us on LinkedIn.
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Please visit the SNMMI Media Center for more information about molecular imaging and precision imaging. To schedule an interview with the researchers, please contact Rebecca Maxey at (703) 652-6772 or rmaxey@snmmi.org.
About JNMT and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (JNMT) focuses on the technology central to nuclear medicine. In peer-reviewed articles, every quarter the journal offers technology-centered articles on imaging and instrumentation, radiopharmacy, quality assurance, radiation safety, and more. JNMT also serves as an invaluable continuing education tool, with teaching editorials, reviews of programs and certification updates, and continuing education articles. Current and past issues of JNMT are available online at https://tech.snmjournals.org.
JNMT is published by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section (SNMMI-TS), an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine and molecular imaging precision medicine that enables diagnosis and treatment tailored to individual patients for optimal outcomes. For more information, visit www.snmmi.org.
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Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology supplement highlights advances in theranostics and opportunities for growth
2025-12-08
(Press-News.org)
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