PETCT-guided biopsy performed

Aurangabad, April 15:

The PETCT guided biopsy was successfully conducted on two patients by the Nuclear Medicine team at Emrald PETCT Research Centre recently. It is a modern technique of per-cutaneous biopsy procedure under PET-CT guidance. The team led by Dr Prafful Jatale, consultant, nuclear medicine/PETCT and Dr Amol Lahoti, intervention radiologist, said such procedures are useful to patients who fail to get diagnosed early for cancer. "It removes the need of repeated costly and time-consuming biopsy procedures. It can also help in cutting down the delay a patient suffers before the start of treatment, helping in controlling the disease progression. Cancer patients can also start their treatment like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy with a curative intent without delay," Dr Jatale said.

PETCT scans are done in cancer patients for staging and to look for treatment response (after chemotherapy/radiotherapy/surgery) and follow–up patients. It is also indicated when cancer is of unknown origin, fever for many days with no conclusive diagnosis and in heart patients to look if heart muscles are viable or not. CIIGMA Hospital CMD Dr Unmesh Takalkar and CEO Dr Ajay Rotte congratulated the team for introducing the new technique.