Pedro C. Barata: Happy to bring new technology and therapies to patients at University Hospitals
shared University Hospitals’ post on LinkedIn, adding:
“We’re happy to bring new technology and therapies to patients at University Hospitals! Thanks for the shout out!”
Quoting University Hospitals’ post:
“UH Seidman Cancer Center is one of just a few cancer centers nationwide to offer our patients early access to a novel and more sensitive method of diagnosing kidney cancer. Care teams here are giving patients a special contrast specific to kidney cancer in conjunction with a PET scan, in advance of expected approval by the FDA at the end of the year. All adult patients with renal masses are eligible to participate.
The new contrast, given a few days before the actual PET scan, is an effort to improve diagnostic options for kidney cancer, says Pedro Barata, Director of the Clinical Genitourinary Medical Oncology Research Program and Miggo Family Chair in Cancer Research. He’s leading the implementation of the novel tracer at UH Seidman.
‘PET scans are available for many tumors, but for some tumors like kidney cancer, the tracer we normally use is FDG, which tests glucose metabolism,’ he says. ‘Its role in kidney cancer is limited. We needed a kidney cancer-specific tracer.’
‘Compared to the normal scans, which can include CT scans or MRI or ultrasound, this PET scan with this contrast or tracer has a much higher sensitivity and specificity to find kidney cancer, particularly clear cell renal cell carcinoma in the kidney, but also outside the kidney compared to normal scans.’
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