Burjeel adds Sharjah’s first PET/CT cancer service
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Burjeel Specialty Hospital has introduced Sharjah’s first positron emission tomography/computed tomography service, giving cancer patients in the emirate access to advanced molecular imaging for diagnosis, staging, treatment planning and follow-up. The PET/CT service operates within the hospital’s Nuclear Medicine Department and is integrated with Burjeel Cancer…
Burjeel Specialty Hospital has launched Sharjah's inaugural PET/CT cancer service, providing cancer patients in the emirate with cutting-edge molecular imaging for diagnosis, staging, treatment planning and follow-up. The PET/CT service is housed within the hospital's Nuclear Medicine Department and is seamlessly connected to Burjeel Cancer Institute, which allows imaging results to be evaluated alongside multidisciplinary oncology teams.
By utilizing a GE Discovery IQ PET/CT system, the hospital aims to enable patients to undergo specialized scans in Sharjah, eliminating the need for travel to other emirates. The system combines functional data from positron emission tomography with anatomical details from computed tomography, making it instrumental in detecting and staging cancer, assessing treatment response, identifying recurrence, and supporting clinical decision-making.
High-sensitivity detectors and Q-Clear reconstruction technology further enhance scan quality and accuracy, minimizing radiation exposure for patients. Dr. Firuz Ibrahim, head of the Nuclear Medicine Department, highlighted the service's role in facilitating timely diagnosis, accurate staging, and monitoring patients' response to therapy while prioritizing safety and comfort.
The department offers various specialized PET/CT scans, such as 18F-FDG for general cancers, PSMA for prostate cancer, and DOTA-peptide for neuroendocrine tumours, among others. PET/CT imaging provides valuable insights beyond conventional methods by displaying both metabolic and structural changes, allowing doctors to identify active tumor sites and evaluate treatment efficacy.
The Sharjah service is integrated with Burjeel Cancer Institute's network, ensuring coordinated treatment decisions from diagnosis through follow-up. Professor Humaid Al Shamsi, CEO of Burjeel Cancer Institute, emphasized the service's versatility in various stages of cancer management, from diagnosis to recurrence detection. The Nuclear Medicine Department will collaborate with Burjeel's Abu Dhabi team to offer access to targeted radionuclide therapies, including radioactive iodine for thyroid cancer, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy for neuroendocrine tumours, and Lutetium-177 PSMA therapy for advanced prostate cancer, among others.
These therapies are tailored to specific cancer types, stages, and patient suitability and are administered under specialist supervision. The hospital's diagnostic and therapeutic protocols adhere to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, as well as standards set by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and the European Association of Nuclear Medicine.
The Sharjah unit's partnership with Abu Dhabi specialists ensures that clinicians can consider imaging-linked therapies for eligible patients, all in compliance with the UAE Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation and internationally recognized radiation-safety standards.
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