South Africa pioneers novel approach to advance precision treatment for aggressive breast cancer
Professor Mike Sathekge has received a R3-million grant to advance 'theranostics,' a precision medicine approach for treating aggressive breast cancer. This method combines early diagnosis with targeted treatment to improve patient outcomes in South Africa.
Why it matters
Highlights a significant medical innovation that could transform breast cancer from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable condition.
UP professor wins R3m grant to perfect diagnosis-and-treatment combination that promises to make killer disease manageable Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer among women in South Africa, and globally. Too often it is discovered too late – but a new approach promises a radical change in survivability for patients.
The solution, called theranostics, stems from the field of nuclear medicine. It holds the potential to turn the tide against breast cancer and, like the fight against HIV/Aids, change it from an outright killer to a manageable disease.
Behind this initiative is world-renowned nuclear medicine specialist Professor Mike Sathekge, head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital, and president and CEO of the South African Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI), a globally leading, not-for-profit imaging facility situated at the hospital.
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