Five doctors at the PGI have resolved a major problem in thyroid cancer cure with the use of a new radiotracer, Ga68-RGD. This diagnostic modality has not been used previously in patients with thyroid cancer.

“This has shown immense promise with the potential for diagnosis and treatment of these patients, improving survival and overall well-being. We were able to achieve this breakthrough with guidance from Dr Bhagwant Rai Mittal, Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine,” said Dr Ashwin Singh Parihar.

The results were shown during a five-day international conference, which concluded at the PGI today. Dr Parihar today received Dr N Ramdas Gold Medal for the best thyroidology paper for this breakthrough. He was the principal author of the paper.

Issue with use of radioiodine

In some patients, despite the persistence of cancer cells, a radioiodine scan comes negative, which leads to a diagnostic and therapeutic conundrum. The disease areas need to be identified before any therapy can be planned.“Moreover, there are limited treatment options for these patients, including costly drugs, which have severe adverse effects and are often not tolerated by patients,” said Dr Parihar.

The research paper in this regard was published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.Besides Dr Parihar, Dr Bhgwant Rai Mittal, Dr Ashwani Sood, Dr Rajender Kumar and Dr Priya Bhusari from the Department of Nuclear Medicine, PGI, collaborated for the study.