Resumen
Until recently, radiopharmaceuticals have been underutilized for the curative or the palliative treatment of cancer. Advances in a development program with investigational agents that have a radioactive payload as part of the studied drug product necessitate new ways of drug handling and administration as well as novel logistics for a safe and satisfactory patient experience. This review offers a roadmap for the clinical start-up and implementation of an integrated and leveraged programmatic collaboration for an academic theranostic center. Within this roadmap, there are complex issues of logistics, coordination, medical considerations, radioprotection, receipt and waste of radioactive agents, and patient release priorities. Regulatory agency input also adds to the layout dynamics of the theranostic center, but this roadmap does not cover specific requirements as United States state laws differ considerably.