Theranostics is the definition of bringing the imaging agent and therapeutic
drug together in the same delivery design. The term ‘theranostic’ was first defined by
John Funkhouser in 2002 and since then it became one of the most attractive fields in
treatment of severe diseases. Nanoparticles (NPs) are the most suitable carrier systems
due to their plasmonic and magnetic properties, active surface areas and various
physicochemical properties. Development of therapeutic NPs provide both active and
passive targeting, sensitive monitoring of biological circulation, effective drug carrying
and releasing, longer circulation time and efficient clearance from renal system. Here
in this chapter, we discussed commonly used cancer treatment theranostic NPs that
utilize imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radionuclidebased
imaging; positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission
computed tomography (SPECT) and X-ray-computed tomography (CT).
Keywords: Cancer, Computed tomography, Drug delivery, Imaging, Magnetic
resonance imaging, Nanoparticles, Radionuclide-based imaging, Theranostic.