Aosta⁣ hospital⁣ Achieves⁣ European Excellence in Theranostics, Offers Cutting-Edge Prostate Cancer Therapy

The Nuclear Medicine team at Aosta, in collaboration ‍with Medical Physics, has received European certification as a “Center of Excellence in⁢ Theranostics” from the European Association of ⁣Nuclear Medicine.

Theranostics – explains the Local Health Authority (Azienda Usl) – is a medical approach⁢ that combines diagnosis and therapy to create personalized treatments, particularly in ⁢oncology. It utilizes molecules that recognize tumors, allowing them to be visualized (diagnosis) and simultaneously destroyed with targeted doses of radiation (therapy).

“This is a recognition of the highest scientific and ‍clinical level that places Aosta among‍ only nine centers in Italy to have⁢ achieved‍ this certification, confirming the quality of the skills, technologies, and care pathways offered,” the health authority added.

Alongside this achievement comes another innovation: the “Parini” hospital has recently made available the first ⁤therapy with radioligands, the radiopharmaceutical PSMA (Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen) conjugated with Lutetium-177 (vipivotide tetraxetan), one of the most advanced forms of precision oncology. ⁢ Each treatment costs approximately €90,000.

“This is an significant milestone ‍that guarantees residents of ‍the Aosta Valley a significant tool and therapeutic advantage,” explains Massimo Uberti, General Director of the Local Health Authority. “Though, the very significant cost also demonstrates the challenge facing public healthcare regarding the sustainability of⁤ new therapies with very high costs.”

Currently, in Italy, this therapy is available only in highly selected specialist ‍centers ‍ and is currently indicated only ⁣in a more aggressive and tough-to-treat stage of the disease, called “castration-resistant metastatic prostate ‍cancer” (mCRPC), in ⁤patients⁢ who have already received other treatments.

prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men (over 41,000 new cases were estimated in Italy last year) ⁤and has⁣ excellent chances of recovery if diagnosed in the early stages. When it reaches the metastatic stage, it remains one of the most challenging cancers to treat.