Germans Trias, the first hospital to manufacture its radioactive drugs for cancer detection

BarcelonaThe earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the prognosis for patients. All professionals fighting the disease are working with this idea in mind, seeking new strategies to improve early detection and begin treating patients at earlier stages, when survival rates are higher. People suspected of having prostate cancer or a neuroendocrine tumor must undergo a test called positron emission tomography (PET/CT), which ultimately determines whether or not there is any trace of the disease. These tests require a very special type of medication prepared with a radioactive isotope, and until now, all Catalan hospitals had to purchase these drugs from external laboratories. Since September, however, the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital has become the first center in Catalonia to have full autonomy in this field after incorporating a generator for this isotope, called gallium-68.

"These patients used to take one or two months to get tested, and now they have the results in just one week. This is the case for patients awaiting diagnosis," Glòria Moragas, head of the Nuclear Medicine Service at the Badalona center, explained to ARA. In addition to reducing waiting times, which will result in improved patient lists, it also represents savings for the hospital, as it will not have to purchase them from external laboratories. In a context like the current one, with a large influx of people in healthcare centers and budgetary pressures, which forces hospitals to make hands and sleeves, having a gallium-68 generator is "very refreshing" for professionals and patients, Moragas assures.

Double diagnostic capacity

Not depending on an external laboratory also allows for much better resource planning. "Now we are autonomous and, depending on our needs, we can increase the number of daily scans," insists Joaquim Riba, clinical head of Radiopharmacy at the hospital. Until now, the delay in testing was a month, but now it can be a few days or even hours. And when it comes to cancer, it can be decisive for the patient's prognosis. To illustrate this with figures, before incorporating this pioneering generator in Catalonia, the center performed around 25 tests per month and now they could perform up to fifty, doubling their diagnostic capacity.

Thus, in addition to saving and optimizing healthcare resources, this autonomy facilitates the scheduling and organization with which the different units and services involved in oncological diagnosis and treatment at the hospital work in a coordinated manner. Having this generator also enhances the center's Nuclear Medicine Service, one of the most advanced in Catalonia, as it was renovated after the COVID pandemic. Both Moragas and Riba agree that the rest of Catalan hospitals should have this generator to speed up testing and reduce costs, but installing it requires a modern and sized infrastructure.