Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH, N) has begun conducting the Prostate Cancer PET-CT scan, the latest and most advanced scan for evaluation of patients with prostate cancer. This is a significant development in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer in the region.
AKUH,N becomes the first hospital in sub-Saharan Africa to conduct the Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) PET CT scan which has been available for only a few years and in the most advanced centres in the world.
In view of its higher sensitivity, this Scan can identify sites of early prostate cancer spread before they are picked up by conventional imaging modalities. This allows for better treatment options of the disease at a very early stage which has not been possible till now. This is bound to have a major impact on the successful outcomes of the treatment for those with prostate cancer.
Following advancement in our PET CT Scan technology and growth in the expertise of our radiology and laboratory departments, AKUH,N is now able to produce the radioactive substance required for this scan as well as conduct the test.
Compared to the presently established methods of imaging prostate cancer such as MRI and bone scan, PSMA PET CT scan has a higher sensitivity for identification of sites of prostate cancer spread, be it in the bones or in any other organ such as lymph nodes, liver and lungs. It can be used for this purpose at the initial diagnosis of the disease, during follow-up and when disease recurrence is suspected.
The capacity to conduct this test adds to the expertise of our PET CT Scan and Cyclotron, a technology we acquired in 2018 at a cost of KES 600 million, becoming the first hospital in the region to do so.
The state-of-the-art technology has improved the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, heart disease and other diseases as it enables physicians to study the body in extraordinary detail, allowing them to diagnose diseases early and plan the most effective course of treatment.
