Consensus Nomenclature for Radionuclide Therapy: Initial Recommendations from Nuclear Medicine Global Initiative
Since its inception in 2012, the Nuclear Medicine Global Initiative (NMGI) of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging has played an important role in addressing significant challenges in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. The first 3 projects were dedicated to standardizing pediatric nuclear medicine practices, addressing the global challenges of radionuclide access and availability, and assessing the educational and training initiatives on theranostics across the globe. These efforts aimed to advance human health, foster worldwide educational collaboration, and standardize procedural guidelines to enhance quality and safety in nuclear medicine practice. In its latest project, NMGI aimed to develop a unified nomenclature for systemic radionuclide therapy in nuclear medicine, addressing the diverse terminology currently used. An online survey was distributed to NMGI member organizations, drawing participation from various geographical locations and disciplines. The survey anonymously collected responses from physicians, physicists, scientists, radiopharmacists, radiopharmaceutical scientists, dosimetrists, technologists, and nurse managers, totaling 240 responses from 30 countries. Findings revealed a prevailing use of the term targeted radionuclide therapy for radionuclide therapy, with 52% of respondents expressing a preference for this term. In contrast, approximately 37% favored "radiopharmaceutical therapy," whereas 11% favored "molecular radionuclide therapy." Other key terms under the umbrella of targeted radionuclide therapy were also discussed to achieve a consensus on terminology. NMGI efforts to standardize terminology in this dynamic and fluid field should improve communication within the field, better reflect the technology used, enable comparison of results, and ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes.
Authors
- Stuart More (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6957-916X)
- Diana Páez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9268-0979)
- Patricia Bernal Trujillo
- Jamshed Bomanji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4289-903X)
- Jonathan Wadsley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1499-1277)
- François Lamoureux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2738-0758)
- Helen Nadel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0236-7298)
- Jilly Croasdale
- S.E. Bouyoucef
- Sze Ting Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8641-456X)
- Tadashi Watabe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8658-2395)
- Mike Sathekge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2806-0625)
- Charlotte Weston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3074-8496)
- Pat Zanzonico (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7334-2752)
- Heather A. Jacene (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7167-078X)
- Elizabeth H. Dibble (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3906-6272)
- Akram Al‐Ibraheem (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0978-4716)
- Munir Ghesani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1044-0136)
- Julie Nonnekens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9644-7522)
- Henry Hee-Seung Bom
- Lizette Louw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4146-2485)
- Andrew Mark Scott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6656-295X)
- Elizabeth Ruth Thomas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3010-6493)
- Juliano J. Cerci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7449-9252)
- Dale L. Bailey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9154-7957)
- Joo Hyun O (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6568-5915)
- Ahmed Saad Abdlkadir (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2009-5110)
- Alexis Vrachimis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5316-7697)
- Andy G. Irwin
- Rakesh Kumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4076-0042)
- Cathy S. Cutler
- William Small
- Francesco Giammarile
- Jean-Luc Urbain
Institutions
- University of Jordan (JO)
- International Atomic Energy Agency (AT)
- Swansea Bay University Health Board (GB)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (US)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Loyola University Chicago (US)
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
- Brown University (US)
- King Hussein Cancer Center (JO)
- Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust (GB)
- Royal North Shore Hospital (AU)
- Singleton Hospital (GB)
- London Health Sciences Centre (CA)
- Erasmus MC (NL)
- Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (AU)
- Steve Biko Hospital (ZA)
- European Association of Nuclear Medicine (AT)
- Chonnam National University Hospital (KR)
- Limassol General Hospital (CY)
- Theranostics (New Zealand) (NZ)
- Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá (CO)
- Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Bab El Oued (DZ)
- Molecular Theranostics (United States) (US)
- Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre (AU)
- Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center (US)
- Austin Health (AU)
- University College London (GB)
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (IN)
- University of Pretoria (ZA)
- Université de Montréal (CA)
- Catholic University of Korea (KR)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- Stanford University (US)
- The University of Osaka (JP)
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Nuclear Medicine
- Published
- 2025-03-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.124.269215
- Citations
- 18
- Primary Topic
- Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 24.48