Specialist training in Nuclear Medicine and future perspectives

We read with the greatest interest the editorial by Carrio et al [1] and would like to express our full support for the idea of strengthening Nuclear Medicine as a clinical specialty. With the introduction and the emerging application of molecular imaging by PET/CT and increasing development and application of different radionuclides in the treatment of various oncological entities, Nuclear Medicine has become an indispensable part of oncological management in many tumor patients [2]. The radionuclide therapy of neuroendocrine tumors, bone metastases, recurrent disease in thyroid cancer, and prostate cancer are some examples of established theranostics in our specialty. This requires, however, thorough basic knowledge of various tumors and of other oncological therapy modalities, as well as risk assessment and management of possible side effects.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
29. Juli 2021

• References

• 1 Carrio I, Essler M, Freudenberg LS. et al. “COVID-19 Pandemic as stimulator to Re-Establish Nuclear Medicine as Clinical Specialty” based on a report of Prof. Dr. Ignasi Carrio. Nuklearmedizin 2020; 59: 405-408
• 2 Wahl RL, Chareonthaitawee P, Clarke B. et al. Mars Shot for Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Imaging, and Molecularly Targeted Radiopharmaceutical Therapy. J Nucl Med 2021; 62 (01) 6-14
• 3 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2020. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society; 2020
• 4 Clinical trials gov NCT 03511664. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03511664 (last accessed February 8, 2021)
• 5 Neumaier F, Zlatopolskiy BD, Neumaier B. Nuclear Medicine in Times of COVID-19: How Radiopharmaceuticals Could Help to Fight the Current and Future Pandemics. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12 (12) 1247
• 6 Lütje S, Marinova M, Kütting D. et al. Nuclear medicine in SARS-CoV-2 pandemia: 18F-FDG-PET/CT to visualize COVID-19. Nuklearmedizin 2020; 59 (03) 276-280
• 7 Du Y, Carrio I, De Vincentis G. et al. Practical recommendations for radium-223 treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2017; 44 (10) 1671-1678
• 8 Wang LF, Lin L, Wang MJ. et al. The therapeutic efficacy of 177Lu-DOTATATE/DOTATOC in advanced neuroendocrine tumors: A meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2020; 99 (10) e19304
• 9 Prigent A, Hustinx R, Costa DC. Nuclear medicine training in the European Union: 2015 update. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2016; 43: 583-596
• 10 Varetto T, Costa DC. Ideas from the second UEMS conference on CME/CPD: new EU directives on a patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare and professional qualifications. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2014; 41: 2169-2173