Radiotheranostics - A Primer for Medical Physicists I by Borrás, Cari; Stabin, Michael G.;

Short description:

This book covers scientific, clinical, and educational aspects of radiotheranostics in cancer control. Setting the framework, the first volume defines radiotheranostics and describes the history of radionuclide therapy and theranostics, and the biology of cancer.

Long description:

This book covers scientific, clinical, and educational aspects of radiotheranostics in cancer control. Setting the framework, the first volume defines radiotheranostics and describes the history of radionuclide therapy and theranostics, and the biology of cancer. It examines the clinical applications of unconjugated radionuclides, such as ¹³¹I and ²²³Ra, and of radionuclide-conjugated cancer-specific vectors: peptides, small molecules, antibodies, and nanoparticles; introduces clinical trials and drug development; and reviews epidemiological studies and the adverse effects of radionuclide therapy – both radiation injuries and chemical toxicity. It presents the chemistry and physics of radionuclide production, discusses radioactivity measurements and traceability, and addresses important instrumentation aspects: calibration, quantitative imaging, and quality control. Volume I concludes with guidance on the education, training, and competence of a radiotheranostic multidisciplinary team and summarizes the principal physics characteristics of theranostics today – including many to be expanded in the second volume – while offering a glimpse into tomorrow. This volume provides the foundations for the more advanced second volume, which explores dosimetric and radiation safety, aiming to empower medical physicists and demonstrate to the cancer community how to improve cancer control and yield increased patient survival times.It will be a valuable reference for medical and health physicists with basic knowledge of nuclear medicine.

Key Features

• Provides a comprehensive introduction to the topic, presenting readers with thorough treatment in a cohesive two-volume book


• Presents a rigorous approach while remaining accessible to students and trainees in the field


• Contains consistent and extensive references to allow readers to delve deeper into the subject

‘While this book is aimed primarily at medical physicists with only a basic knowledge of nuclear medicine  physics, it also offers up-to-date information crucial for scientists and clinicians involved in this rapidly evolving discipline. Authored by experts in the field, the book is organized into 4 sections and consists of 15 chapters. Particularly noteworthy are the comprehensive tables detailing properties of alpha-/beta-emitters and radiopharmaceuticals, invaluable for medical physicists navigating this complex terrain.

In summary, this book offers an excellent primer on the scientific, clinical, and educational dimensions of radiotheranostics for medical physicists. It undoubtedly serves as an indispensable handbook for scientists and clinicians engaged in radiotheranostics.’

 Dr. Dimitris Mihailidis, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, September 2024.

'This primer fills a much-needed space in radiotheranostics. While there have been numerous review articles published regarding radiotheranostics, to the best knowledge of this book reviewer there are no other books that provide the same level of radiotheranostics introduction to medical and health physicists…There are additionally many texts that are more physician and biology focused; these are likely too far estranged from the knowledge foundation of the medical and health physicist at the entry point of radiotheranostics to be of much initial vale. The main strength of this primer is the concatenation of information that would otherwise require a very substantial literature review. This book provides an easy to read and understand resource for medical and health physicists becoming acquainted with radiotheranostics. As a primer, the text does not provide incredibly detailed information or explanation; however, the interested reader can explore the very substantial bibliography to satisfy their desire to know more.

I will be keeping this book readily available as a reference, in particular regarding the excellent tabulated data of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals. I am looking forward to reading the second volume.'

Joseph Steiner Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Chicago, in Medical Physics (International Journal of Medical Physics Research and Practice), November 2025.

Table of Contents:

Section I: Introduction. Chapter 1: What is radiotheranostics? Chapter 2: History of radionuclide therapy and theranostics. Chapter 3: Biological principles behind targeted radionuclide therapy for cancer. Section II: Clinical Applications of Targeted Radionuclide Therapy in Cancer Control. Chapter 4: Unconjugated radionuclides. Chapter 5: Radionuclide-conjugated cancer-specific vectors: Peptides. Chapter 6: Radionuclide-conjugated cancer-specific vectors: Small Molecules and antibodies. Chapter 7: Radionuclide-conjugated cancer-specific vectors: Nanoparticles. Chapter 8: Introduction to clinical trials and drug development for radionuclide therapies. Chapter 9: Epidemiologic Studies of Cancer Risk among Patients Administered Radionuclides. Chapter 10: Adverse effects of radionuclide therapy. Section III: Radiation Chemistry and Physics. Chapter 11: Radionuclide production. Chapter 12: Radioactivity measurement and traceability. Chapter 13: Instrumentation, calibration, quantitative imaging, and quality control. Section IV: The Future. Chapter 14: Human resources: Multidisciplinary team education, training, and competence. Chapter 15: Theranostics today: Looking backwards to tomorrow.