University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Health is set to open its first outpatient theranostics center later this year, according to an article on the health system's website.
Theranostics refers to the dual approach of using radiopharmaceuticals to both identify and treat cancer and is an emerging field in nuclear medicine.
The 3,000-sq-ft facility will include eight infusion chairs and have the capacity to deliver 80 transfusions per week, or 4,000 treatment cycles per year, according to the article. Four nurses, three nuclear medicine technologists, two radiation safety specialists, and nine physicians will be dedicated to the center, which will treat patients with advanced prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, and thyroid cancer, UCLA Health said.
Radioactive drugs such as Pluvicto cannot be administered in a large volume in a typical outpatient medical center. This new facility will be able to handle more patients, according to UCLA Health.
