• Teragnosis in paediatric oncology represents a pioneering clinical advance in Spain and Europe, where very few centres offer this therapeutic option.

• This precision therapy makes it possible to treat some of the most common paediatric tumours—neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, and thyroid cancer—with maximum effectiveness on tumour cells and minimal impact on healthy tissue.

• The Sant Joan de Déu Hospital applies this technique in its day hospital, in rooms with sea views and family support, allowing children to return home the same day.

Atrys Health, a medical company specialising in telediagnostic, oncology, pathological anatomy and nuclear medicine services, and the Pediatric Cancer Centre Barcelona (PCCB) at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital are expanding their capacity to apply teragnosis after receiving authorisation to open two new rooms specifically designed for this pioneering therapy against childhood cancer. This step represents a significant clinical advance in Spain and Europe, where very few hospitals currently offer this therapeutic option.

Teragnosis is an innovative precision medicine technique that combines diagnosis and treatment in a single strategy, using the same molecule to detect the tumour and administer selectively targeted therapy. This approach allows action to be taken exclusively on tumour cells without damaging healthy tissue, a crucial advantage in paediatric oncology, reducing the long-term adverse effects of conventional treatments.

This therapeutic modality is particularly effective in combating some of the most common paediatric tumours: neuroblastoma, the most frequent extracranial solid tumour in childhood, with around 100 new cases per year in Spain; medulloblastoma, one of the most common aggressive tumours of the central nervous system in paediatrics; and childhood thyroid cancer, the incidence of which has increased in recent decades.

‘The authorisation to use teragnosis in paediatric patients is a milestone for Atrys. This technique is still rarely used in Europe, placing us at the forefront of precision medicine. Its value lies in maximising therapeutic efficacy with minimal aggressiveness for children,’ says Isabel Roca, Director of Nuclear Medicine at Atrys and Head of the Nuclear Medicine Service at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital’.

Facilities and patient experience

To make this new treatment possible, Sant Joan de Déu Hospital has two rooms specifically designed for the administration of theragnosis, as well as a Nuclear Medicine department equipped with state-of-the-art technology (1 PET-CT and 2 SPECT-CT).

The treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis in comfortable rooms with sea views, allowing the child to be accompanied by their family during the six to eight hours of the procedure and to return home the same day.

Research that becomes clinical reality

Atrys and the PCCB at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital have been collaborating for years on international clinical trials in both paediatric cancer diagnosis and paediatric theragnosis, a line of research that is now taking a decisive leap towards real clinical application in Spain. This advance places the centre among the European leaders in paediatric precision medicine and offers new hope for children with cancer and their families.