Non-glucose based radiopharmaceuticals are described as which type of agents?

• A. Theragnostic agents
• B. Tracers
• C. Radiopharmaceuticals
• D. Contrast media

Answer: (A)

Theragnostic agents are designed for both diagnosis and treatment using the same targeting molecule or closely related pairs. Non-glucose–based radiopharmaceuticals fit this idea because they can be used to image disease and, with a different radionuclide on the same targeting system, deliver a therapeutic dose to the tumor. This dual capability—imaging to locate and characterize disease plus targeted therapy based on the same molecular probe—defines theragnostic agents. For example, a somatostatin receptor–targeting compound labeled with Ga-68 works for PET imaging, while the same or a closely related compound labeled with Lu-177 can be used for targeted radiotherapy.