Theranostics is the term used to describe the proposed process of diagnostic therapy for individual patients - to test them for possible reaction to taking a new medication and to tailor a treatment for them based on the test results.[1]

It encompasses the possible utilisation of a wide range of subjects that includes: predictive medicine, personalized medicine, integrated medicine, pharmacodiagnostics and Dx/Rx partnering

This method is looked upon as the possible end result of new advances made in Pharmacogenomics, Drug Discovery using Genetics, Molecular Biology and Microarray chips technology. [2]

[edit] Etymology

The term was used first by the CEO of PharmaNetics, John Funkhouser. He defined it as, "The ability to affect therapy or treatment of a diseased state."^{[citation needed]}

The above definition makes no sense. The term "theranostic" is more frequently used to denote linking of a diagnostic to therapeutic. The second half of the word "nostic" is supposed to represent diagnostic but sounds more like "gnostic", a word introduced into English from Latin and meaning "having a knowledge of". Theranostic could thus mean having knowledge of therapy. Moreover "theranostic" is confusing and not understood by most people and should be deleted from the vocabulary. There is no difficulty in describing this concept without using a special term. Diagnostics used to guide therapeutics are also called “companion diagnostics”. If one has to use a single word to describe a test linked to therapy, one can use "pharmacodiagnostic", which is more appropriate and easy to understand.

Source for this is: Jain KK. Textbook of Personalized Medicine, Springer, 2009.

[edit] References

• Picard FJ, Bergeron MG., Rapid molecular theranostics in infectious diseases, Drug Discov Today. 2002 Nov 1;7(21):1092-101.
• Hooper JW., The genetic map to theranostics, MLO Med Lab Obs. 2006 Jun;38(6):22-3, 25.

[edit] External links

• The Scientist 2004, 18(16):38; Published 30 August 2004

PDF documents

• Axis shield Flyer on this Subject

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