TITLE:
Radiotherapy in Pakistan
AUTHORS:
Ahmad Mushtaq
KEYWORDS:
Radioisotope, Radiotherapy, Teletherapy, Brachytherapy, Cancer, Pakistan
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.1 No.3,
June
9,
2014
ABSTRACT: In Pakistan we do not have a National Cancer Registry. Some institutions have started to develop their own Cancer Registry. According to the World Health Organisation annually 120,000 people in Pakistan are diagnosed with cancer. All three types of radiotherapy procedures, teletherapy, brachytherapy and unsealed sources are being employed for treatment of cancer. Accelerators and Cobalt-60 teletherapy units are imported. Radioisotopes used as radiotherapeutics are produced locally. IAEA is constantly supporting the activities of radiotherapy in Pakistan. Infrastructure of radiotherapy needs extensive improvement in Pakistan. Clinical applications of radio-therapeutics can only be increased by collaboration of nuclear medical centers and producer of radionuclides—Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), Islamabad, Pakistan.