PGI first to use nanoknife to treat liver, pancreatic cancer

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 9

Highlighting the role of irreversible electroporation or nanoknife in the treatment of liver and pancreatic tumours in patients who cannot undergo surgery, Dr Naveen Kalra, Professor, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, said the PGI was the first institute in the country to acquire this facility.

“So far, nearly 40 cases of liver cancer have been treated successfully in the Department of Radiodiagnosis using nanoknife,” said Dr Kalra, while speaking at a workshop on tumour ablation. The two-day workshop, which was organised by the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, PGI, concluded today.

Talking about the technique, Dr Kalra, organising secretary of the workshop, said in this technique, high voltage current is passed into the tumour using probes, which are placed precisely and accurately into the tumours. The cell membrane of the tumour cells becomes leaky and the body’s own defence mechanism acts against the tumour cells resulting in their eradication.

Earlier in the day, there was a talk on cryoablation delivered by Dr Ujjwal Gorsi, joint organising secretary of the workshop. Cryoablation is another technique of killing the tumour cells which works on the principle of freezing following by thawing in the region of the tumour. This treatment modality is available only at the PGI.

Several national and international faculty members attended the workshop and shared their valuable experience with the delegates. Dr Sanjay Gupta, a renowned interventional radiologist from MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Texas, USA, delivered his keynote lecture on the immunological pathways in tumour ablation.

Dr MS Sandhu, Head, Department of Radiodiagnosis, and chairman of the workshop, Dr Chawla, former director of the institute, and Dr Sanjay Jain, an eminent internist, chaired this session.

A core group of the interventional radiologists led by Dr Shyam Kumar from the CMC, Vellore, and Dr Naveen Kalra from the PGI met in the afternoon to frame guidelines for the minimally invasive treatment of liver cancer in India.