Cancer diagnosis facility opened in Dubai
By IANSThursday, January 28, 2010
DUBAI - A state-of-the-art facility to produce radioactive glucose used in diagnosis of cancer has been opened in Dubai.
The facility will help significantly improve cancer management for patients in the United Arab Emirates, said Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, director general of the Dubai Health Authority, while inaugurating the centre Wednesday.
The plant will manufacture Flurodeoxglucose (FDG), a type of radioactive glucose injection required for patients who need to undergo Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan to diagnose cancer, WAM news agency reported.
The new plant set up by the Al Mulla Group and Monrole UAE will develop the FDG injection in Dubai itself so that the hospitals do not need to import it from outside.
“Previously we needed to import this injection from countries like Holland and the short-shelf life of the product was always a challenge. Now the injection is manufactured in the Emirate of Dubai and will be an hour away from many major hospitals that require this drug for various oncological, cardiovascular and neurological conditions,” Al Murooshid said.
The PET scan can detect cancer at early stage, assess the possiblity of recurrence of the disease and identify if the treatment given to the patient is working within the first cycle of chemotherapy itself.
