Theranostics covers combination of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for various cancers throughout body using suitable drug combination. This review covers well-known treatment of thyroid cancer and pheochromocytoma with I-131 compounds and also new radiopharmaceuticals for prostatic cancer and pancreatic cancer. Of particular, new trends toward patient outcome has been focused. A recent clinical study highlighted the ability of alpha-radiotherapy with high LET to overcome treatment resistance to beta--particle therapy. The theranostics will become an ever-increasing part of clinical nuclear medicine these days.

The importance of personalized medicine is growing, since there is an urged need to avoid unnecessary and expensive treatments. In nuclear medicine, the theranostic approach is an established tool for a specific molecular targeting in means of diagnostics and therapy. The visualisation of potential targets can help to predict if a patient would benefit from a particular treatment or not. Thanks to the quick development of radiopharmaceuticals and diagnostic techniques, the use of theranostic agents is constantly rising. In this article important milestones of nuclear therapies and diagnostics in the context of theranostics are highlighted. It begins with the well-known radioiodine therapy in patients with thyroid cancer and then guides through different approaches for the treatment of advanced cancer with targeted therapies. The aim of this review is to provide a summary of background knowledge, current applications and advantages of targeted therapies and imaging in nuclear medicine practice.

Gold nanoparticles are currently used for the treatment of cancer through a myriad of modalities and delivery approaches. Conjugation of tumor imaging Single Photon Emitting Computed Tomographic (SPECT) radiopharmaceutical to gold nanoparticles will allow systemic targeting and imaging of cancer tissues simultaneously. In this study, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared using Epigallocatechingallate (EGCG), loaded with doxorubicin (Dox), and characterized before and after doxorubicin conjugation. Cytotoxicity of EGCG-AuNPs and Dox-EGCG-AuNPs were evaluated against breast carcinoma (MCF-7) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2) cell lines demonstrating high cytotoxic effects of Dox-EGCG-AuNPs against both cell lines. Doxorubicin was radiolabeled with ^99mTc and our new approach has optimized various labeling conditions resulting in a radiochemical yield of 93.5 ± 2.04%. Biodistribution of ^99mTc-Dox-EGCG-AuNPs was studied in normal and tumor bearing mice following I.V. and intratumoral injections at different time intervals. Results showed high uptake of the intravenously injected ^99mTc-Dox-EGCG-AuNPs in tumor tissue (22.45 %ID/g at 2 h). In addition, localized intratumoral injection of ^99mTc-Dox-EGCG-AuNPs showed extremely high levels of uptake in tumor (80.22 %ID/g at 15 min) with high retention for extended periods post injection. Our results present prospects for the utility of ^99mTc-Dox-EGCG-AuNPs as a multiplexed theranostic agent through SPECT imaging of tumor tissue and therapy through photothermal destruction of cancer tissue through the application of exogenous laser lights as well as through tyrosine phosphatases inhibitor (through EGCG), and topoisomerase II inhibitor (through doxorubicin) effects.

Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a serine protease characterized by its high expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and near absence in adult normal tissues and benign lesions. This unique expression pattern positions FAP as a prospective biomarker for targeted tumor radiodiagnosis and therapy. The advent of FAP-based radiotheranostics is anticipated to revolu-tionize cancer management. Among various types of FAP ligands, peptides and antibodies, have shown advantages over small molecules, exemplifying prolonged tumor retention in human volunteers. Within its scope, this review summarizes the recent research progress of the FAP radiopharmaceuticals based on antibodies and peptides, on tumor imaging and therapy. Additionally, it incorporates insights from recent studies, providing valuable perspectives on the clinical utility of FAP-targeted radiopharmaceuticals.

Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy and arises from melanocytes in the choroid, ciliary body, or iris. Radiotherapy is the mainstay of therapy for most patients with localized uveal melanoma. Another RT technique used in the treatment of uveal melanomas is charged-particle radiotherapy. Photodynamic therapy is based on the selective destruction of cancer cells or pathological vessels. High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a promising technology of thermal destruction of solid tumors located deep under the skin. The principle of operation is based on the heating of a tumor. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) induces the reactive oxygen species and kills cancer cells. Electroporation applied in vivo delivers drugs or genetic material from the intercellular space to cells. Iontophoresis is a technique in which using electric current increases the biodistribution of drugs in the eyeball. Transcorneal iontophoresis has been shown to increase the local concentration of antibacterial and antifungal drugs, steroids, DNA, and RNA molecules. Theranosticsincorporates diagnostic imaging and therapy. Although no theranostic markers have been developed specifically for uveal melanoma, some NPs have already found use in ophthalmology. UM presents an unmet clinical need. Novel eye-preserving therapeutic approaches for the localized disease are needed.

There are numerous challenges involved in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Globally, majority of people suffers from cancerous disease involving throat cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, cancerous brain tumor. Among these the most common ones is the lung cancer or lung carcinoma. The leading cause of the lung cancer is the smoking. Around 80% to 90% of deaths are caused due to Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The inadequate diagnostic techniques and low chances for the survival of lung cancer patients results from the lack of an early prognosis and incompetency in traditional therapies. However, such challenges involved in the prognosis and treatment of lung cancer are on decline with the progression in magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) technology. Many break-through discoveries and inventions have been made in the field of cancer therapy by using magnetic nanoparticles. The implication of nanotechnology has led to the recent advancement in nanomedicine field. This has encouraged the improvement in different therapeutic and diagnosis strategies employing nanotechnology. The generation of immense technological benefits for nanoparticles systems has been accredited to its remarkable nanoscale physico-chemical properties. This in turns provides the early detection of lung cancer and active drugs delivery for an improved theranostics strategy. The present review provides a general idea of the current progression in the therapeutic and prognosis purpose of magnetic nanoparticles. Further, we disclose the development in the lung cancer theranostics by functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles. The established importance of magnetic nanoparticles in the theranostics centers for lung cancer has been revealed in this paper. The challenges existing in the theranostics of lung cancer are addressed through the functioning of magnetic nanoparticles in the process.

The novel coronavirus named by WHO and Coronavirus Study Group (CSG) as SARS-COV-2 is the etiological agent of the newly emerged Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 has become a pandemic threat as the WHO declared it a public health emergency of international concern. Early and precise detection of the virus is important for effective diagnosis and treatment. Various testing kits and assays, including real-time reverse Transcriptase PCR, thermal screening guns, ELISA-based immunoassays, and Point-of-Care (POC), have been implemented or are being explored to detect the virus and/or characterise cellular and antibody responses to the infection. However, these approaches have inherent limitations such as non-specificity, high cost, characterize by long turnaround times for test results, and can be labour intensive. Aptamers, which are single-stranded oligonucleotides, generated artificially by SELEX (Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment) may offer the capacity to generate high affinity bioprobes for monitoring relevant SARS-COV 2 and COVID-19 biomarkers. This article discusses the prospects of implementing aptasensing technologies for rapid point-of-care detection of SARS-COV-2.

The introduction of cancer therapeutics and nanotechnology has resulted in a paradigm shift from conventional therapy to precision medicine. Nanotechnology, an interdisciplinary field with a focus on biomedical applications, holds immense promise in bringing about novel approaches for cancer detection, diagnosis, and therapy. The past decade has witnessed significant research and material applications related to nanoparticles (NPs). NPs differ from small-molecule drugs as they possess unique physicochemical characteristics, such as a large surface-to-volume ratio, enabling them to penetrate live cells efficiently. Traditional cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, have limitations, such as cytotoxicity, lack of specificity, and multiple drug resistance, which pose significant challenges for effective cancer treatment. However, nanomaterials have unique properties that enable new therapeutic modalities beyond conventional drug delivery in the fight against cancer. Moreover, nanoparticles (1-100 nm) have numerous benefits, such as biocompatibility, reduced toxicity, excellent stability, enhanced permeability and retention effect, and precise targeting, making them ideal for cancer treatment. The purpose of this article is to provide consolidated information on various bio-inspired nanoparticles that aid in cancer theragnostics.

Minigastrin (MG) analogs for therapy of CCK2R-expressing malignancies are limited by low stability in vivo or excessive accumulation in non-target organs. By modifying the C-terminal receptor-binding sequence, metabolization could be prevented and tumor targeting significantly improved. In this work, N-terminal changes of the peptide length were evaluated. Based on the amino acid sequence of DOTA-MGS5 (DOTA-DGlu-Ala-Tyr-Gly-Trp-(N-Me)Nle-Asp-1Nal-NH₂), two new MG analogs were synthesized, by either introduction of a penta-DGlu moiety or depletion of the four N-terminal amino acids and introduction of a non-charged hydrophilic linker. Two CCK2R-expressing cell lines were used to demonstrate receptor interaction. Stability of the ¹⁷⁷Lu-labeled peptide analogs was evaluated in human serum up to 24 h after incubation and in BALB/c mice up to 30 min after injection. The biodistribution profile and tumor targeting potential was evaluated in xenografted BALB/c nude mice. For both new MG analogs, the combination of strong receptor-specific cell interaction, high stability and enhanced tumor targeting could be demonstrated. Shortening of the peptide sequence lowered the absorption in the dose-limiting organs, whereas elongation increased uptake in renal tissue.

Angiogenin (ANG), an endogenous protein that plays a key role in cell growth and survival, has been scrutinised here as promising nanomedicine tool for the modulation of pro-/ anti-angiogenic processes in brain cancer therapy. Specifically, peptide fragments from the putative cell membrane binding domain (residues 60-68) of the protein were used in this study to obtain peptide-functionalised spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of about 10 nm and 30 nm in optical and hydrodynamic size, respectively. Different hybrid biointerfaces were fabricated by peptide physical adsorption (Ang60-68) or chemisorption (the cysteine analogous Ang60-68Cys) at the metal nanoparticle surface, and the cellular assays were performed in the comparison with ANG-functionalised AuNPs. Cellular treatments were performed both in basal and in copper-supplemented cell culture medium, to scrutinise the synergic effect of the metal, which is another known angiogenic factor. Two brain cell lines were investigated in parallel, namely tumour glioblastoma (A172) and neuron-like differentiated neuroblastoma (d-SH-SY5Y). Results on cell viability/proliferation, cytoskeleton actin, angiogenin translocation and VEGF release pointed to the promising potentialities of the developed systems as anti-angiogenic tunable nanoplaftforms in cancer cells treatment.

Due to their well-defined plasmonic properties, gold nanorods (GNRs) can be fabricated with optimal light absorption in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which make them suitable for cancer-related theranostic applications. However, their controversial safety profile, as a result of surfactant stabilization during synthesis, limits their clinical translation. We report a facile method to improve GNR biocompatibility through the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). GNRs (120 x 40 nm) were synthesized through a seed-mediated approach, using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a cationic surfactant to direct the growth of nanorods and stabilize the particles. Post-synthesis, SDS was used as an exchange ligand to modify the net surface charge of the particles from positive to negative while maintaining rod stability in an aqueous environment. GNR cytotoxic effects, as well as the mechanisms of their cellular uptake, were examined in two different cancer cell lines, Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) and HeLa cells. We not only found a significant dose-dependent effect of GNR treatment on cell viability but also a time-dependent effect of GNR surfactant charge on cytotoxicity over the two cell lines. Our results promote a better understanding of how we can mediate the undesired consequences of GNR synthesis byproducts when exposed to a living organism, which so far has limited GNR use in cancer theranostics.

Four new zoonotic coronaviruses outbreak occurred in the past two decades. The first coronavirus outbreak happened in 2003 and was named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-1 (SARS-CoV-1), followed by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2013, and by Swine Acute Diarrhoea Syndrome (SADS) in 2017. In late December 2019, a patient from Wuhan Seafood Wholesale Market, China, was admitted to Huang's hospital with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) of apparently unknown etiology, which later was diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2-induced coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 was identified from another clade within the subgenus Sarbecovirus of the genus Betacoronavirus. This new CoV variant showed 96.2% similarity at whole-genome level to bat coronavirus. Based on genetic studies, pangolin, bats, and snakes are suspected to be a possible intermediate host of this virus, but further research is in progress to determine how this virus appeared and what is the exact source of infection. The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has higher transmissibility, contagiosity and pathogenicity compared to that of SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. SARS-CoV-2 swiftly spread from continent to continent and is persistently causing a shocking global public health concern albeit the rate of infected cases and mortality is relatively decreasing over time. In this review, we provide an update on the origin, transmissibility, etiology, epidemiology, and evolution of COVID-19. We also highlight the current diagnostics, therapies, and prognostics for SARS-CoV-2. Eventually, we report and provide our humble opinion about the preventive strategies to control the ongoing related pandemic situation at global and individual levels, considering the international public health emergency and possible future epidemics and pandemics.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) surrounding tumor cells is a complex and highly dynamic system that promotes tumorigenesis. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key elements in TME playing a pivotal role in cancer cells’ proliferation and metastatic spreading. Considering the high expression of the fibroblast activation protein (FAP) on cell membrane, CAFs emerged as appealing TME targets, namely for molecular imaging, leading to a pan-tumoral approach. Therefore, FAP inhibitors (FAPis) have been recently developed for PET imaging and radioligand therapy, exploring the clinical application in different tumor sub-types. The present review aimed to describe recent developments on radiolabeled FAP inhibitors and evaluate the possible translation of this pan-tumoral approach in clinical practice. At present, the application of FAPi-PET has been explored mainly in single-center studies, generally performed in small and heterogeneous cohorts of oncological patients. However, preliminary results were promising, in particular in low FDG-avid tumors such as primary liver and gastro-entero-pancreatic cancer, or in regions with unfavorable tumor-to-background ratio at FDG-PET/CT (i.e. brain), as well as in radiotherapy planning of head and neck tumors. Further promising results have been obtained in the detection of peritoneal carcinomatosis, especially in ovarian and gastric cancer. Data regarding the theranostics approach are still limited at presents, and definitive conclusion about its efficacy cannot be drawn at present. Nevertheless, the use of FAPi-based radio-ligand to treat the TME has been evaluated in first-in-human studies and appears feasible. Although the pan-tumoral approach in molecular imaging showed promising results, its real impact in day-to-day clinical practice has yet to be confirmed, and multi-center, prospective studies powered for efficacy are needed.

Bacteriophages are viruses obligately infecting bacteria. They constitute the most numerous categories of biological forms populating our biosphere and are highly diverse and capable of infecting almost all bacteria. Phages make use of their host cell molecular machinery to express their own genes as they lack the ability to independently reproduce themselves. The inimitable characteristics of bacteriophages have enabled them to become propitious tools in biotechnology and genetic engineering. Phages show no tropism for mammalian cells but however, can be easily modified to present targeting ligands on their surface as coat protein fusions without any negative impacts on phage structure. These displayed ligands thereupon guide the recognition, interaction, and internalization of the phage into cells wherein efficiency of transfection is directly influenced by the copy number of the ligands used for targeting. Engineered phages are more efficacious for transgene delivery and gene expression in cancer cells when compared to other non-viral gene transfer strategies and are therefore being employed in developing cancer vaccines. The high level of stability as well as resistance of bacteriophages to various environmental conditions have enabled the development of virus-like particles (VLPs) capable of successful deliverance of several therapeutic drug cargos into tumors by selective targeting. Phage display technology has been used in therapy of Alzheimer’s disease and drug delivery into the brain. Exogenous peptides fused into the coat protein of phages enables the display of these peptides on the phage surface to generate combinatorial phage that facilitates their rapid separation using their ability to bind to a specific molecular target. Phage therapy has been shown to be safe in clinical settings when compared to antibiotics as it shows no adverse anaphylaxis nor adverse effects such as the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria. This review provides intriguing details of the use of natural and engineered phages in the therapy of diseases such as cancer, bacterial infections, bovine mastitis and dementia in addition to the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in generating genetically engineered phages. Further, the use of phage display technology in generating monoclonal antibodies against various human diseases is elucidated.

Kisspeptin (KISS1) and its cognate receptor (KISS1R) are implicated in the progression of various cancers. However, a theranostic radiopharmaceutical targeting the KISS1 receptor (KISS1R) has yet to be explored. A gallium-68 labelled kisspeptin-10 (KP10) has potential as a pan-tumor radiopharmaceutical for the detection of cancers. Furthermore, a lutetium-177 labelled KP10 could find therapeutic application in treating oncological diseases. We attached DOTA to the NH2-terminus of KP10 as we posited that this modification would not impair biological activity and showed that receptor stimulation of inositol phosphate accumulation in HEK293 transfected with the KISS1R gene was similar for KP10 and DOTA-KP10. We describe optimization of radiolabeling with gallium-68 and lutetium-177 and stability in serum, plasma, and whole blood. Pharmacokinetics was established with µPET/CT and ex vivo measurements. Dynamic studies with µPET/CT demonstrated that background clearance for the radiopharmaceutical was rapid with a blood half-life of 18 ± 3 minutes. DOTA-KP10 demonstrated preserved functionality at KISS1R and good blood clearance. These promising results advocate the further development of KP10 structures which have high binding affinity along with proteolytic resistance.

Advances in nanomedicine bring the attention of researchers to the molecular targets which can play a major role in the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic modalities for cancer management. The choice of a proper molecular target can decide on the efficacy of the treatment and endorse the personalized medicine approach. Gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is a G-protein-coupled membrane receptor, well known to be overexpressed in numerous malignancies including pancreatic, prostate, breast, lung, colon, cervical and gastrointestinal cancers. Therefore, many research groups express a deep interest in targeting GRPR with their nanoformulations. A broad spectrum of the GRPR ligands has been described in the literature, which allows tuning of the properties of the final formulation, particularly in the field of the ligand affinity to the receptor and internalization possibilities. Hereby the recent advances in the field of applications of various nanoplatforms which are able to reach the GRPR expressing cells are reviewed.

Heterogeneous distribution of delivery or treatment modalities within the tumor mass is a crucial limiting factor for a vast range of theranostic applications. Understanding the interactions between a nanomaterial and the tumor microenvironment will help to overcome challenges associated with tumor heterogeneity as well as the clinical translation of nanotheranostic materials. This study aims to evaluate the influence of protein surface adsorption on gold nanoparticle (GNP) biodistribution using high resolution Computed Tomography (CT) preclinical imaging in C57BL/6 mice harboring Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) tumors. LLC provides a valuable model for study due to its highly heterogenous nature which makes drug delivery to the tumor challenging. By controlling the adsorption of proteins on the GNP surface, we hypothesize that we can influence the intratumoral distribution pattern and particle retention. We performed an in vitro study to evaluate the uptake of GNPs by LLC cells and an in vivo study to assess and quantify the GNP biodistribution by injecting concentrated GNPs citrate stabilized or passivated with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) intratumorally into LLC solid tumors. Quantitative CT and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) results both confirm the presence of particles in the tumor 9 days post-injection (n=8 mice/group). Significant difference is highlighted between citrate-GNP and BSA-GNP groups (**p < 0.005, Tukey’s multiple comparisons test), confirming the protein corona of GNPs modifies intratumoral distribution and retention of the particles. In conclusion, our investigations show that the surface passivation of GNPs influences the mechanism of cellular uptake and intratumoral distribution in vivo highlighting the spatial heterogeneity of the solid tumor.