BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (Northampton County) — St. Luke’s University Health Network has expanded its cancer treatment services with the opening of a dedicated Theranostics Center at its Anderson Campus, offering patients access to advanced therapies that use specialized radioactive medicines to target cancer cells.
The new St. Luke’s Theranostics Center features four private infusion bays designed specifically for patients receiving theranostic treatments. Located alongside the hospital’s Nuclear Medicine department, the facility allows patients to receive consultations, imaging and treatment in one coordinated location.
Theranostics combines diagnostic imaging with targeted cancer treatment, allowing physicians to identify cancer cells and deliver radiation directly to those cells using specialized radiopharmaceuticals.
The approach involves using one radioactive medicine to locate and evaluate cancer throughout the body, followed by a related radioactive medicine designed to treat the identified cancer cells. The goal is to deliver treatment more precisely while limiting radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
“Theranostics is a personalized approach to cancer care that helps us identify disease, determine whether a patient is a candidate for treatment and then deliver therapy directly to cancer cells using paired radioactive particles and molecules that stick to the cancer cells themselves,” said Edgar Cheng, MD, diagnostic radiologist and SLUHN Division Chief of Nuclear Medicine. “It enables us to treat cancer with remarkable precision while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues.”
The center’s physician team includes Cheng, Dr. Jay Riccardi and Dr. Steven Yang, all board-certified diagnostic radiologists with specialized expertise in nuclear medicine.
Patients are also supported by a multidisciplinary team that includes clinical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, radiopharmaceutical therapy specialists, imaging technologists and registered nurses.
According to St. Luke’s, patients begin the treatment process with a comprehensive consultation and education session. During the appointment, the care team explains the recommended therapy, reviews radiation safety precautions and answers questions about what patients can expect.
Depending on the type of cancer and prescribed treatment, patients may undergo a series of infusions over several months. Follow-up care includes imaging, laboratory testing and continued coordination with oncologists and other members of the treatment team.
The center currently provides treatment for low-grade neuroendocrine tumors, advanced prostate cancer and certain thyroid cancers.
Neuroendocrine tumors are uncommon cancers that develop in neuroendocrine cells, most frequently in the digestive tract, pancreas and lungs. Some advanced prostate cancers can be treated using radioligand therapy, which uses specialized molecules to deliver radiation directly to cancer cells.
Treatment for certain thyroid cancers builds on St. Luke’s existing experience with radioactive iodine therapy.
The facility currently offers three U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved radioligand therapies for eligible patients: Xofigo, Lutathera and Pluvicto.
St. Luke’s said its nuclear medicine program has been designated a Clinical Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Center of Excellence by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging since 2022.
According to the health network, the designation places the program among approximately 40 centers nationwide to receive the recognition and makes it the only center in the region with that distinction.
The health network expects to expand the center’s treatment options as additional radiopharmaceutical therapies receive FDA approval.
St. Luke’s officials said the dedicated facility is intended to improve access to specialized cancer treatments while allowing patients to receive multiple aspects of their care in one location.
