PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided, for the first time in the province, to introduce CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery and PET/CT scan facilities for cancer patients. These advanced services will be set up at Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar.
Advisor on Health Ehtesham Ali said proposals have been invited from companies to launch the project. He explained that the CyberKnife system provides non-surgical, highly precise radiosurgery for treating complex and inoperable tumors, while the PET/CT scan helps in early diagnosis, accurate staging, and better treatment planning for cancer patients.
Currently, K-P lacks PET scan services, forcing patients to travel to cities like Karachi and Lahore for diagnosis and treatment. “This initiative will allow cancer patients to receive complete care in Peshawar, reducing travel, costs, and stress for families,” Ehtesham added.
He said the project would position K-P as a leader in modern cancer care in Pakistan. “This historic step marks a new era in cancer treatment and fills a long-standing gap,” he said.
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According to health experts, over 11,700 new cancer cases are reported in K-P every year. However, only 3% of cancer cases in the country are detected at an early and curable stage, as revealed at a recent event by the Society of Medical Oncology Pakistan (SMOP).
Ehtesham said the facility will also serve as a center for research, training, and capacity building. “It will save countless lives and greatly reduce the financial and psychological burden on patients and their families,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, in Punjab, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz recently inaugurated coablation treatment at Mayo Hospital, Lahore — the first-ever public sector facility in Pakistan to offer this advanced cancer treatment. The coablation technology, brought from China, is non-surgical, non-chemo, and non-radiotherapy, providing a quicker and less invasive treatment option for patients.
Maryam Nawaz had earlier visited Xi Ji Tan & Hygea Medical Technologies in China in December 2024, where she signed an MoU to bring advanced cancer treatment machinery and expertise to Punjab.
Speaking at the inauguration, she said Punjab had now emerged as a regional leader in cancer care across South Asia. The treatment procedure, which takes about 60 to 120 minutes, uses liquid nitrogen to freeze cancer cells at -198°C, followed by heating the affected tissue to 83°C to destroy targeted cells. The cost of treatment per patient is around Rs1.6 million.
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The facility is currently treating early-stage liver, lung, and breast cancers. So far, five patients have successfully undergone treatment, including Rana Muhammad Asghar, whose complex liver cancer was treated, and Muhammad Akram, who had a lung tumor removed.
The chief minister directed the authorities to procure five more coablation machines and ensure that a trained team of doctors and staff is deployed to operate them.
King Edward Medical University (KEMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Mahmood Ayaz informed Maryam that Dr Shehzad Kareem Bhatti and his team had received specialized training in China to operate and manage the coablation technology.
With these initiatives, both Punjab and K-P are taking major steps toward modernizing cancer care, offering patients hope for timely and effective treatment within their own provinces.
