St. Luke’s, ICPO launch International Theranostics initiative

St. Luke’s Medical Center, in partnership with the Germany-based International Centers for Precision Oncology (ICPO) Foundation, recently convened “Theranostics Day: Awareness & Exchange about New Precision Cancer Care” at the Henry Sy Sr. Auditorium in Global City.

The landmark gathering served as a global pilot program, establishing a template for future ICPO events worldwide

Theranostics represents a personalized leap in medical science, integrating diagnostic testing with targeted therapy to treat diseases at the molecular level. On 15 May 2025, St. Luke’s became the first and only ICPO Clinical Theranostics Center of Excellence in the Philippines, cementing its role as a regional leader in the field.

During the event’s opening remarks, Dr. Anthony Perez, senior vice president and medical director of St. Luke’s-Global City, described the approach as the fulfillment of the promise of personalized medicine.

Perez cited that by combining molecular imaging with targeted therapy, clinicians can see disease with remarkable clarity and deliver treatment with purpose.

Dr. Eduardo Erasto Ongkeko, head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Theranostics, added that the field is reshaping modern medicine by moving away from “one size fits all” models in favor of treatments tailored specifically to individual patients.

The program featured testimonials from patients who have undergone the treatment, alongside a multidisciplinary panel of specialists in medical oncology, urology, and pathology.

These experts discussed the necessity of family conferences and collaborative medical meetings in successful patient outcomes.

International perspectives were provided by Karim Bouterfa, ICPO senior project manager, who emphasized the foundation’s mission to scale global access to life-saving treatments. Bouterfa said the organization is driven by the principle that the patient’s benefit is the highest law.

Dr. Patricia Bautista-Peñalosa, the ICPO center leader at St. Luke’s, stressed the urgency of increasing public awareness. She highlighted the department’s efforts to ensure that advanced treatments, such as peptide receptor radionuclide therapy and PSMA radioligand therapy, remain accessible to patients facing financial hurdles.

The theme of healthcare equality was echoed by guest speaker and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, a representative of the Akbayan Partylist. Diokno called for the democratization of precision medicine, stating that such treatments should be available to everyone afflicted with illness, not just the privileged.

Lawmakers and physicians Representative Anna York Bondoc-Sagum and Representative Kathryn Fermin-Gorriceta committed to drafting legislation to facilitate prompt access to these technologies, while Mabini Mayor Noel Luistro pledged to lead awareness campaigns at the local government level.

St. Luke’s has maintained a history of innovation in the field since 2018, when it became the first institution in the country to offer Ga-68 DOTATATE and PSMA PET-CT scans. The hospital recorded the nation’s first peptide receptor radionuclide therapy in May 2018 and its first PSMA radioligand therapy a month later. By 2022, all three advanced theranosticians accredited by the Philippine Society of Nuclear Medicine were affiliated with St. Luke’s.