Mission Cancer + Blood offers cutting-edge theranostic precision treatment for cancer patients
For 45 years, Mission Cancer + Blood, part of UI Health Care, has provided community-based, patient-centered cancer care while also leading the way in bringing the latest cancer treatments and technology to central Iowa and beyond.
This includes innovative treatments, including hundreds of clinical trials, now expanded through the joint clinical trials program with UI Health Care. One of those cutting-edge treatments, theranostics, is revolutionizing cancer care for some patients.
What is theranostics?
Theranostics is a fusion of therapeutic and diagnostic technologies. It is precision medicine using radiation targeted directly at tumors, without damaging nearby healthy cells and tissues.
“The big difference between more traditional techniques and theranostics is that theranostics give us the ability to see and target specific receptors on cancerous cells,” says Bradley Hiatt, DO, Mission Cancer + Blood.
Doctors first use a diagnostic imaging drug to see whether a patient’s tumors have specific receptors, which lets doctors confirm ahead of time that the treatment is likely to go exactly where it’s needed. If the tumors are found to have the receptors, a closely related treatment drug is given that targets those same receptors.
Combining imaging with treatment allows physicians to confirm all tumor sites have the receptors needed for the treatment, it accounts for differences between tumors within the same patient, and it allows them to predict and monitor where side effects may occur. All of this means greater personalization and precision than treatments based solely on biopsy results.
These treatments are often used for metastatic disease from prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors, especially when standard treatments are no longer working, or for patients who aren’t good candidates for surgery, standard radiation treatment, or chemotherapy. Patients tend to see better results and a longer-lasting response than with other treatments, and they report that side effects (typically low blood counts, fatigue, and nausea) aren’t as dramatic as some forms of cancer treatment.
For Mission Cancer + Blood patient Ron Watson, theranostics has been the game-changing treatment that has made his cancer nearly undetectable. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021, Watson was determined to treat his cancer aggressively. He first opted to have his prostate removed. When his Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) levels began to rise six months later, he and his oncologist tried a series of treatments, including hormonal and radiation therapies. Each worked for a time before the PSA levels would rise again.
Then his Mission oncologist, Daniel Buroker, MD, JD, Mission Cancer + Blood, part of UI Health Care, suggested theranostics. Though many patients receive up to six treatments, for Watson, after three treatments his scans show nearly undetectable levels of PSA.
The combined power of Mission and UI Health Care
The theranostics program is another compelling example of the power of Mission and UI Health Care joining forces. Mission patients who receive theranostic treatment are seen by one of the UI Health Care nuclear medicine specialists who travel to the Des Moines metro every other week to consult patients and oversee the administration of the therapy in the Waukee Clinic. Patients also remain under the care of their Mission oncologist and care team, ensuring continuity and convenience.
“This combination of expertise and relationships is powerful – while patients are able to remain close to home for treatments, our theranostics team is available for consults and questions as they arise, even when we are back in Iowa City,” says Yusuf Menda, MD, nuclear medicine specialist at UI Health Care.
The benefits go beyond convenience
“Patients are able to receive advanced academic-level care, along with access to multidisciplinary tumor boards and research expertise, all without needing to travel long distances,” Menda says.
For Watson, the ability to receive this kind of care close to home was meaningful. He was still working full-time while undergoing treatment, so the 30-minute trip to the Mission Waukee clinic from his home in Ankeny was much more convenient than the 4-hour round trip to Iowa City and back.
“We have always focused on bringing the latest cancer care to our patients, so we are thrilled to welcome our colleagues from UI Health Care to provide this cutting-edge treatment to our Mission patients here in the Des Moines metro,” Hiatt says.
Pioneering history at UI Health Care
UI Health Care has a long history of helping to pioneer this innovative and targeted treatment, with its roots tracing back to the 1940s, when radioiodine was initially used to treat hyperthyroidism. UI Health Care was a leader in adopting innovative imaging technologies and was among the first in the nation to receive a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner.
Looking to the future, UI Health Care is involved in many new research projects involving new radioactive drug therapies targeting new receptors in many cancer types.
“I expect rapid growth in this field in the next decade,” Menda says. “We will see many new radiopharmaceuticals targeting more cancer types, all while being more effective, less toxic, and increasingly personalized, offering new hope to patients in Iowa and beyond.”
Today, Watson is getting back to doing all of the things he loves – spending time with his family, playing baseball, and working on a novel that incorporates both his love of the sport and his cancer journey.
“Two years ago, none of this would have been possible without the doctors at Mission and UI Health Care wanting to try theranostics,” Watson says. “You just never know when you’re going to find the one thing that works for you.”
