KENYA – The Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital (KUTTRH), Kenya’ leading National Referral Hospital, has introduced prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) scans for cancer patients at its Integrated Molecular Imaging Centre.
Prostate cancer occurs when some cells in the prostate gland reproduce more rapidly than normal resulting in a tumor that if left untreated, prostate cancer cells eventually spread from the prostate and invade distant parts of the body.
It is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men globally as most prostate cancers develop without men experiencing any symptoms in the early stages and most cancer patients are diagnosed when their diseases are at advanced stages.
The PSMA PET scan is a new type of nuclear medicine procedure for men with prostate cancer that detects prostate cancer cells that are hiding in lymph nodes that appear normal in size, even when the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level is low.
The prostate-specific membrane antigen-positron emission tomography scan is also useful for finding prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body for accurate detection, localization and management of prostate cancer.
Subsequently, PSMA PET scans are now available at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital’s Integrated Molecular Imaging Centre for men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer who are at risk of having the disease spread outside the prostate.
The latest prostate cancer imaging is also available for men who have previously been treated for their prostate cancer with curative intent including surgery and/or radiation and now have suspected persistent or recurrent disease based rising levels of PSA levels in their blood.
“The PSMA scan is currently the best scan available for men with persistent or recurrent prostate cancer after treatment. It can identify prostate cancer that is both in and outside the prostate gland,” said KUTTRH in a statement.
Kenyatta University Hospital stated that doctors will use results from the PSMA-PET scan to plan treatment and determine if a treatment is working or needs to be changed, adding that access to the scans will lead to availability of effective and targeted radionuclide treatment for prostate cancer.
The facility is key in ongoing efforts to comprehensively deal with the cancer menace as research findings will help better understand the types of cancers prevalent in Kenya and the region together with how best to manage them.
In latest developments, the Kenyatta University Teaching, Research and Referral Hospital has marked another major milestone by performing the first Single chamber permanent pacemaker insertion in the facility.
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