Siemens Healthineers partners with Massachusetts General Hospital to advance personalized cancer care with theranostics

USA—Siemens Healthineers Molecular Imaging has partnered with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to expand the use of theranostics, an advanced approach that integrates diagnosis and treatment using similar radiopharmaceutical agents.

This collaboration seeks to improve personalized cancer care by integrating advanced imaging, data analysis, and tailored therapies.

Theranostics is a promising medical technique that uses one radiopharmaceutical to diagnose disease and a related therapeutic agent to treat it.

It has already been successfully applied to certain cancers, including thyroid, prostate, and neuroendocrine cancers.

Typically, molecular imaging plays a crucial role in theranostics by enabling doctors to identify the extent of disease and monitor the effectiveness of treatments.

As part of this partnership, Siemens Healthineers and MGH will create a Therapy Command Center.

This center will serve as a hub to support theranostics across MGH and its affiliated hospitals in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire.

The Command Center will collect and analyze theranostics-related data, provide real-time monitoring, and assist physicians in making the best treatment decisions tailored to each patient’s unique condition.

James Williams, PhD, head of Siemens Healthineers Molecular Imaging, emphasized that this collaboration builds on a strong relationship between the two organizations that has lasted more than 20 years.

He noted that the partnership will drive innovations throughout the patient care journey, enabling more precise diagnoses and highly effective, customized therapies.

Umar Mahmood, MD, PhD, chief of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at MGH, highlighted that the Therapy Command Center will integrate diverse patient imaging and laboratory data with broader population-based information.

 This comprehensive approach aims to improve individual patient outcomes by providing a clearer picture of each patient’s disease and response to treatment.

Moreover, the collaboration will focus on studying how radiation affects both tumors and healthy tissues.

This research is crucial for refining treatment protocols to maximize effectiveness while minimizing side effects and toxicity to normal organs.

To support these efforts, Siemens Healthineers and MGH researchers will utilize advanced imaging technology, including the Biograph Vision Quadra and Biograph Trinion PET/CT scanners.

These tools will help examine the molecular and biological effects of radiation therapy on cancer cells and healthy tissues.

Gaining a deeper understanding of these effects is essential for advancing personalized medicine and improving patient care.

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