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.