Theranostics: A primer for medical students and residents

A key component of the introduction of any medical innovation is education. Simply put, health professionals not involved in such an innovation's development need to learn about it, and such education needs to be tailored to the needs of different learning communities, including those who will someday incorporate it into the care of their patients and those who will receive queries about it from patients and colleagues. Among such key groups are medical students and residents, and one such promising innovation is theranostics, a burgeoning field whose name is a portmanteau of therapeutics and diagnostics that combines targeted therapeutics with molecular imaging to deliver individualized care. The field is sufficiently new that it is not included in the curricula of many medical schools and residency programs, yet physicians in training need a basic understanding of its current and projected future role in healthcare. This article serves as such an introduction.