Global Health Asia-Pacific Best Hospitals Awards 2021 | Page 68

BEST HOSPITALS

NUCLEAR MEDICINE SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR IN THE ASIA PACIFIC

SUNWAY MEDICAL CENTRE
Nuclear Medicine at Sunway Medical Centre Sunway Medical Centre prides itself on its treatment outcomes in nuclear medicine , which involves the application of radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat various diseases and conditions . At Sunway Medical Centre , nuclear medicine physicians work closely with multidisciplinary teams that encompass diagnostics , patient services , pharmacy , nursing , and radiation safety , working hand-in-hand to deliver a safe and effective treatment plan . With Sunway Medical Centre ’ s home-grown Nuclear Medicine Centre , advanced imaging technologies such as 4D PET-CT and xSPECT-CT are adopted to provide patients with complete diagnostic and therapeutic care .
ADVANCED TREATMENTS AT THE NUCLEAR MEDICINE CENTRE
Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy ( PRRT ) PRRT is used to treat a specific type of cancer called neuroendocrine tumours or NETs . In PRRT , a cell-targeting protein ( or peptide ) is combined with a small amount of radioactive material ( or radionuclide ) to create a special type of radiopharmaceutical called a radiopeptide . Yttrium 90 ( Y-90 ) and Lutetium 177 ( Lu-77 ) are the most commonly used radionuclides . When injected into the patient ’ s bloodstream , this radiopeptide travels and binds to neuroendocrine tumour cells , delivering a targeted high dose of radiation directly to the cancer cells while reducing harm to healthy tissues .
Lutetium-177 PSMA Therapy Lu177-PSMA therapy is a type of molecular therapy used to treat metastatic prostate
S K Wong of Global Health Asia-Pacific with Bryan Lin
cancer . Lutetium-177 is a radionuclide substance that emits damaging radiation , which purpose is to destroy cancer cells . It is combined with PSMA protein that seeks out PSMA receptors found on most prostate cancer cell surfaces . Once Lutetium-177 PSMA infuses into a patient ’ s bloodstream , it will target and bind to PSMA receptors on prostate cancer cells . Damaging radiation from the Lutetium-177 will , over time , result in the death of prostate cancer cells .
Radioiodine ( I-131 ) Therapy Radioactive iodine ( I-131 ) is used to treat thyroid cancer . After thyroidectomy , it destroys any remaining cancer cells in patients and prevents thyroid cancer from returning . It is also used to treat patients with metastatic thyroid cancer .
Sustaining research and collaborations The past year has witnessed Sunway Medical Centre participating in industry-academia and international collaborations to strengthen medical diagnostic and therapeutic research in nuclear medicine .
Sunway Medical Centre banded with
South Korea-based Seoul National University Hospital ( SNUH ) in organising virtual workshops that fostered knowledge- and experience-sharing opportunities for physicians and researchers to educate next-generation experts in ASEAN about theranostics in nuclear medicine , taking form in the 2020 TEIN Summer Workshop and 2021 TEIN Winter Workshop . There is an ongoing research collaboration on voxel-based dosimetry , currently under review by the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging .
Meanwhile , at home , Sunway University and Sunway Medical Centre ’ s research team forged a strategic alliance to conduct research on establishing new protocols in our Nuclear Medicine service offerings that benefit patients in need . This collaboration also conducts tumour board meetings involving numerous consultants to discuss perplexing cases and formulate the best care plan .
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing travel curbs , most of Sunway Medical Centre ’ s international patients could not travel to Malaysia for their follow-up care and treatment . To offer the best of its support , nuclear medicine physicians worked closely with the international patients ’ consultants to provide other treatment options such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy .
Meanwhile , the International Patient Centre ( IPC ) at Sunway Medical Centre ensured the patients faced minimal problems with their travel by liaising with local government agencies on the latest safety guidelines and preparing adequate facilities and services like COVID-10 testing , specific isolation rooms for quarantine , and special workflow to reduce contact time .
66 NOVEMBER 2021 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com