The Nuclear Medicine Department is equipped with the latest technology in imaging systems to meet the needs of modern medicine. In nuclear medicine imaging systems, gamma rays emitted from radioactive substances are recorded after radioactively labeled drugs are collected with high specificity in tissues, organs and systems. Thanks to these images, it is possible to obtain physiological information about benign and malignant tumors in a noninvasive manner from nearly every organ including the central nervous system, breathing, circulatory, musculoskeletal, urogenital, stomach-intestine, liver and biliary duct, thyroid- parathyroid- glands above kidneys and neuroendocrine systems.

PET/BT is a test where Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT) are used in conjunction. PET is a test that shows the physiological abnormalities in the body before they form and CT provides information on the lesion size, shape and location. A better diagnosis scan be made when these two technologies are used in conjunction. In the Nuclear Medicine clinic, the GE Discovery STE 16 device and the GE Infinia double-headed SPECT Gamma Camera are used as the first and only PET/CT imaging system in Cyprus. There are radioactive patient rooms in which patients can receive high dose radionuclide treatment as an inpatient in the Nuclear Medicine clinic.

PET/CT is safely used in the diagnosis of oncological, cardiological and neurological diseases. 18F-FDG PET/CT has been successfully used for diagnosis, initial staging, treatment response evaluation, post-treatment restaging and radiotherapy planning in cancer patients of all ages, including pediatric patients, as well as in the detection of foci of infection and inflammation in the body, including the detection of the focus of fever that is caused by unknown effects.

The theranostic applications conducted in the Nuclear Medicine clinic include: Ga-68 PSMA-PET/CT imaging and Lu-177 PSMA or Ac-225PSMA treatment for prostate cancers, Ga-68 DOTATATE PET/CT imaging and Lu-177 DOTATATE or Ac-225 DOTATATE treatment for neuroendocrine tumors.

Tumors discovered with Ga-68 PET/CT can be successfully treated with Lu-177 /Ac-225 PSMA or DOTATATE and the lifespan and quality of the patients life can be increased. It is also possible to reduce or completely stop taking painkiller material by conducting palliative care for patients with prostate cancer using Lu-177 EDTMP.

The Nuclear Medicine Department diagnosis and treatment services include;

• Selective Intra-arterial Radionuclide Therapy (SIRT) with radiomicrospheres or radioembolization / TARE applications in inoperable primary or metastatic liver tumors.
• Clinical oncology and neurology (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease etc.) applications with 18F-FDG PET & CT.
• Evaluation of post-infarction myocardial viability with cardiac FDG PET/CT
• Ga-68 PSMA imaging and Lutetium-177/Ac-225 PSMA radionuclide therapy in Prostate Cancers
• Ga-68 DOTATATE PET&CT imaging and Lutetium -177 /Ac-225 DOTATATE radionuclide therapy in Neuroendocrine Tumors
• Lu-177 EDTMP and Sm-153 radionuclide therapy for bone pain relief in patients with painful bone metastases
• Radiosynovectomy with intra-articular Y-90, Rhenium-186, Er-169 colloid injection for PVNS or hemophilic arthropathy, chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis, which cause intra-articular fluid accumulation and limitation of movement in the joints
• Radioactive iodine (I-131) therapy in patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancers and hyperthyroidism
• Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy
• Lung perfusion scintigraphy
• Parathyroid scintigraphy
• Thyroid scintigraphy
• Whole body bone scintigraphy
• Dynamic and static kidney scintigraphy
• Determination of gastric emptying time with solid and liquid foods
• C-14 Urea Breath Test for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection