SQCCCRC launches imaging services for patients with certain cancers

Muscat: The Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Department at Sultan Qaboos Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Centre (SQCCCRC) has successfully imaged the first set of patients with Ga68PSMA and Ga68DOTATATE tracers, as part of services which are exclusively to be offered at the centre within Oman.
 
“The production and labelling of these tracers are done on site with the iQS® Ga-68 Fluidic Labelling Module by a highly qualified nuclear medicine team and proper post production quality control to assure the product is safe for the patients. The radioactive material is then injected into the patient's vein who in turn is kept waiting for a specific uptake time period after which he or she is imaged on the PET/CT machine,” a statement said.
 
"Both Ga68DOTATATE and Ga68PSMA are radioactive diagnostic agents indicated for PET imaging in patients with neuroendocrine tumours and in men with prostate cancer respectively.  Both tracers are notorious for their high sensitivity and specificity in detecting lesions compared to conventional diagnostic imaging. Furthermore, the availability of this service will allow the treating team to assess patients’ eligibility for DOTATATE and PSMA targeted radionuclide therapy, which we are also very hopeful will be available at the centre in the near future," said Dr Khulood Al Riyami, nuclear medicine consultant and section head, SQCCCRC.
 
"We are extremely pleased with the availability of this new service at the center, for which previously patients had to travel outside the country to undergo these studies and would often lead to a delay in diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr Rashid Al Sukaiti, Head of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Department, SQCCCRC.