Nuclear medicine plays an increasingly important role in modern oncology, providing detailed information about how cancer behaves at a molecular and cellular level.
Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that uses small amounts of radioactive substances to diagnose and treat disease. In cancer care, it plays an important role in both molecular imaging and, increasingly, targeted treatment.
For diagnosis, nuclear medicine imaging provides information about the function and biological activity of organs and tissues, complementing conventional imaging that primarily shows their structure. This can help clinicians detect and characterise cancer, determine the extent of disease, support treatment planning and monitor response to therapy.
Nuclear medicine can also be used to treat certain cancers by delivering radiation to targeted cancer cells. This combination of molecular imaging and targeted treatment forms the basis of theranostics, an increasingly important area of cancer care discussed in the section further down.
PET uses radiotracers that accumulate in the body according to specific biological processes, allowing clinicians to visualise and measure the activity of tissues and tumours. In oncology, PET is widely used to detect and characterise cancer, determine the extent and stage of disease, support treatment planning, assess response to therapy and identify potential recurrence. Different radiotracers can also be used to target specific characteristics of certain cancers, such as prostate and neuroendocrine tumours.
SPECT uses radiotracers to create three-dimensional images of the function and activity of organs and tissues. In oncology, it is used for applications including bone imaging and sentinel lymph node assessment. More broadly, SPECT is also widely used to assess a range of cardiac, endocrine, neurological and other conditions.
Expanding into nuclear medicine is a natural extension of Stingray Healthcare Group’s established oncology platform. Nuclear medicine plays an important role across the cancer care pathway, from diagnosis and staging to treatment planning and response assessment, complementing our existing expertise in radiotherapy, radiosurgery and medical oncology.
Bringing these capabilities together enables closer collaboration between specialists, more coordinated referral and patient pathways, and increasingly integrated treatment planning across our network. By facilitating the exchange of clinical expertise and information across disciplines, from diagnosis and treatment decisions through to treatment delivery and follow-up, we aim to provide patients with more integrated and personalised cancer care.
Theranostics brings together the diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities of nuclear medicine. It uses molecular imaging to identify specific biological targets expressed by cancer cells and determine whether a patient may benefit from a corresponding targeted treatment.
If the relevant target is present, a therapeutic radiopharmaceutical can then be used to deliver radiation selectively to cancer cells expressing that target, while limiting exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. This approach enables treatment to be tailored to the biological characteristics of an individual patient’s cancer.
Already used in the treatment of certain cancers, including prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours, theranostics is a rapidly developing area of oncology, with new radiopharmaceuticals and indications continuing to emerge.
With nuclear medicine now part of Stingray Healthcare Group’s clinical expertise, we have a strong foundation to explore the growing potential of theranostics and, over time, further connect advanced molecular imaging with targeted cancer treatment across our oncology platform.
