NewsVoir
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], September 29: Cancer treatment is becoming increasingly precise with doctors now able to understand not just where a tumour is located, but also how it is behaving inside the body. Taking a step in this direction, HCG Aastha Cancer Centre in Ahmedabad has announced the introduction of advanced nuclear medicine services, including Gamma Camera imaging, PET-CT scans and targeted radionuclide therapies.
These new facilities are aimed at helping doctors detect cancer more accurately, understand the disease better and choose the most appropriate treatment for each patient.
The centre’s modern nuclear medicine department is among the few in the region to bring advanced imaging and targeted radiation-based treatments together under one roof.
Understanding the Gamma Camera
A Gamma Camera is a specialised imaging machine used in nuclear medicine. Unlike a regular scan that mainly shows the structure of an organ, a Gamma Camera also helps doctors understand how an organ is functioning.
For the scan, a small and safe amount of a radioactive substance known as a tracer, is given to the patient. The camera detects the tracer as it moves through the body and creates images showing how different organs and tissues are working.
This can help doctors identify problems at an early stage and make better decisions about treatment. Gamma Camera imaging can be useful in examining several parts of the body, including the heart, thyroid and other endocrine organs, liver and gallbladder, kidneys and urinary system.
PET-CT: Seeing both the tumour and its activity
PET-CT is another important tool in modern cancer care. It combines two types of scans — PET and CT.
A PET scan shows how active different cells are in the body. Cancer cells often behave differently from normal cells and may take up more of certain substances. A CT scan, meanwhile, provides detailed pictures of the body’s organs and structures.
By combining the two tests, doctors can get a clearer picture of where the cancer is, how far it has spread, and how active it is.
PET-CT can therefore help doctors confirm and stage the cancer, plan the best treatment, and check whether a treatment is working.
Dr Surya Teja Gavani, Consultant Nuclear Medicine Specialist at HCG Aastha Cancer Centre, said the centre uses different radioactive tracers depending on the type of cancer and the patient’s clinical condition. “We offer advanced, disease-specific tracers such as FDG, PSMA, DOTA and FAPI. The choice of tracer depends on the patient’s condition and helps us understand the tumour more completely and plan the next step in treatment,” he said.
What is targeted radionuclide therapy?
The centre has also introduced targeted radionuclide therapies, which use radioactive medicines to directly target cancer cells.
In simple terms, the medicine is designed to find specific cancer cells in the body and deliver radiation to them. The aim is to damage and destroy the cancer cells while reducing the radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissues.
This type of treatment has been used successfully for several cancers. Radioiodine therapy, for example, is commonly used for certain thyroid cancers. PRRT is used for some neuroendocrine tumours, while PSMA therapy can be used for suitable patients with prostate cancer.
Dr Gavani explained that these treatments are an important part of precision medicine, where treatment is increasingly selected according to the specific characteristics of a patient’s disease.
Bringing diagnosis and treatment together
With the addition of these advanced services, HCG Aastha Cancer Centre aims to provide a more comprehensive approach to cancer care. The technology allows doctors to gather detailed information about a patient's disease, while specialists from different fields can work together to decide the most suitable treatment.
The goal is simple — to detect cancer accurately, understand the disease better and provide the right treatment for the right patient at the right time. The centre said its advanced technology is supported by experienced specialists who work together to prepare personalised treatment plans for patients, covering diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care.
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Advanced PET-CT, Gamma Camera and Targeted Therapies Launched at HCG Aastha Cancer Centre
