Nuclear Medicine Doctors in Noida

Most people encounter nuclear medicine at a specific moment in a diagnosis especially when their oncologist asks for a PET-CT scan, or when a treatment discussion moves toward radioligand therapy. It is a speciality that sits at the meeting point of molecular biology and imaging, using radioactive tracers to detect disease at a cellular level, often before structural changes appear on a CT or MRI.

What makes nuclear medicine particularly relevant in oncology is its ability to be both diagnostic and therapeutic. The same biological targeting mechanism that makes a tracer show up in a tumour on a PET scan can be used to deliver a radioactive payload directly to that tumour sparing the surrounding tissue. This is not theoretical. It is in active clinical use for specific cancers, including neuroendocrine tumours and advanced prostate cancer.

Medanta Noida's Department of Nuclear Medicine offers both the diagnostic and therapeutic arms of the speciality, led by a physician who has built particular expertise in theranostics - the use of matched tracer-therapy pairs to personalise cancer treatment.

What the Department Offers

The nuclear medicine services at Medanta Noida span advanced PET-CT imaging, SPECT-CT diagnostic procedures, and targeted radionuclide therapies. Unlike centres that offer only routine FDG PET scans, the department here has the capability across a wider range of tracers and treatment protocols.

Diagnostic imaging services include:

• FDG PET-CT: The standard oncology staging and restaging scan, used across most solid tumours

• PSMA PET-CT: For prostate cancer detection, staging, and assessment of recurrence, with significantly higher sensitivity than conventional imaging

• DOPA PET-CT: Used in neuroendocrine tumours, brain tumours, and movement disorders

• Choline PET-CT: An alternative tracer for prostate cancer imaging in select clinical scenarios

• NOTA PET-CT: For targeted imaging in specific oncological and non-oncological indications

• Full range of SPECT-CT procedures: For bone scans, thyroid scans, renal scans, cardiac perfusion studies, and more

Therapeutic services include:

• 177Lu-DOTATATE therapy: A radionuclide treatment for unresectable or metastatic neuroendocrine tumours that express somatostatin receptors

• 177Lu-PSMA therapy: A targeted treatment for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer in patients who have exhausted standard lines of therapy

The Doctors at This Clinic

Dr. Suhas Singla - Director, Nuclear Medicine

Dr. Suhas Singla completed his MD from AIIMS Delhi with the highest level of structured postgraduate training in nuclear medicine. His clinical focus covers the full scope of diagnostic nuclear oncoimaging and, critically, the therapeutic side of the specialty.

His expertise in PSMA PET-CT is particularly relevant given how the landscape of prostate cancer management has shifted over the past several years. PSMA imaging has, in many centres, replaced bone scans and CT as the preferred staging tool for intermediate to high-risk prostate cancer and for detecting recurrence after definitive treatment. The ability to offer 177Lu-PSMA therapy in the same department means patients do not need to travel to multiple institutions for what is effectively a matched diagnostic-treatment pathway.

In neuroendocrine tumour management, Dr Singla's experience with 177Lu-DOTATATE - PRRT, or peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, adds a treatment option for patients with somatostatin receptor-positive tumours that cannot be surgically removed or have spread. It is a well-evidenced therapy with meaningful survival benefit in selected patients, and having a physician experienced in both patient selection and treatment delivery matters considerably for outcomes.

When Is a Nuclear Medicine Consultation Relevant?

Most patients are referred to nuclear medicine by their oncologist, urologist, or endocrinologist. A consultation or scan here is relevant when:

• A cancer diagnosis requires whole-body staging that goes beyond CT particularly for lymphoma, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, or head and neck cancers

• PSA is rising after prostate cancer treatment and conventional imaging has not identified the site of recurrence

• A neuroendocrine tumour has been diagnosed and the clinical team needs to assess receptor expression before considering PRRT

• A bone scan or thyroid scan is needed as part of ongoing cancer monitoring

• The treating oncologist is considering 177Lu-PSMA or 177Lu-DOTATATE therapy and needs a nuclear medicine physician to evaluate suitability and manage the treatment

• Cardiac perfusion imaging is needed to assess myocardial blood flow in a patient with suspected coronary artery disease

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is a PET-CT scan the same as a regular CT scan?

   No a conventional CT scan shows anatomy (your doctor can see the size and shape of structures). A PET-CT combines anatomical imaging with functional information: the radioactive tracer shows where in the body certain biological processes are active. In oncology, cancer cells typically take up FDG (a glucose analogue) at a higher rate than surrounding normal tissue making them visible on PET even when they are too small to appear as a distinct mass on CT.

2. What is PSMA PET-CT and why is it better than a bone scan for prostate cancer?

   PSMA stands for Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (a protein that is overexpressed on prostate cancer cells). A PSMA PET-CT uses a tracer that binds to this protein allowing even small deposits of prostate cancer to be detected throughout the body. Bone scans detect secondary changes in bone caused by metastatic disease, which is an indirect and less sensitive method. For recurrent prostate cancer especially, PSMA PET-CT can identify disease at PSA levels where bone scans and CT show nothing changing the management plan significantly.

3. Do I need a referral from an oncologist to access nuclear medicine services at Medanta Noida?

   For diagnostic scans like PET-CT, SPECT-CT, and bone scans, a referring doctor's request is standard practice, though patients can also approach the department directly. For therapeutic procedures like 177Lu-PSMA or 177Lu-DOTATATE, a multidisciplinary evaluation is required before treatment is initiated. The nuclear medicine team works closely with oncologists, urologists, and endocrinologists at Medanta Noida to ensure the right patients are selected and appropriately prepared for treatment.