Theranostic nanomedicine for cancer detection and treatment

Zhen Fan a, Peter P. Fu b, Hongtao Yu a, Paresh C. Ray a,*

a Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Jackson State University, 1400 J.R. Lynch St, Jackson, MS, USA
b Division of Biochemical Toxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration, 3900
NCTR Road, Jefferson, AR, USA

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the USA according to the American Cancer Society. In the past 5 years, “theranostic nanomedicine”, for both therapeutics and imaging, has shown to be “the right drug for the right patient at the right moment” to manage deadly cancers. This review article presents an overview of recent developments, mainly from the authors’ laboratories, along with potential medical applications for theranostic nanomedicine including basic concepts and critical properties. Finally, we outline the future research direction and possible challenges for theranostic nanomedicine research.

Keywords: Circulating tumor cell diagnosis, Combined therapy, Photothermal therapy, Selective cancer treatment, Theranostic nanomedicine