Studying the Treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumors in the Nuclear Medicine Research Center

 Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences announced the implementation of research projects on the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors with radon in this center.

 According to WEBDA, Dr. Seyed Rasoul Zakavi stated that this project is being implemented for the first time in Iran. Since the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors have not been done with improper methods and the corresponding patients have not been receiving proper treatment despite having several disease centers, this project is of high significance.

This Faculty Member of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences pointed out that neuroendocrine tumors involve different parts of the body including respiratory system, the digestive system, adrenal glands, thymus, and thyroid.

As a report on the performance of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Seyed Rasoul Zakavi stated that the Nuclear Medicine Research Center was established in 2009 and is considered a newly established center in this university. 

 He emphasized that this center was aimed at developing medical science in the field of Nuclear Medicine within the country in order to achieve new findings in this science, contribute to the expansion of boundaries of knowledge, and conduct practical researches.

  Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center emphasized the optimization of techniques in Nuclear Medicine investigations and stated that training Nuclear Medicine experts in different regions, development of Nuclear Medicine within the borders of the country, meeting research needs, and training professionals who start work with their minds on research are among the other goals of this research center.

The Nuclear Medicine Research Center Is Seeking to Create Platforms for Students

 Pointing to the high significance of attraction and accompaniment of students interested in doing research in the Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Dr. Zakavi stated that this center is aimed at creating a platform for the assembly of students interested in research, providing methodological and research support, and providing major guidelines for academic researches and dissertations.

He added that the Nuclear Medicine Research Center is mainly aimed at training researchers and contributing to the development of Nuclear Medicine in the country.

Pointing to 5-year prospects of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center stated that based on a 5-year prospect, attempts were made for publishing two research projects and two credible articles for each faculty member by the year 2016 and provision of necessary researches in this field.

 This researcher of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences stated that within this prospect, they are seeking to create the required infrastructure for this research center and publish a journal of Nuclear Medicine research.

We Have Transcended the 5-Year Prospect

 Dr. Zakavi announced the achievement of the articulated prospect for this research center and stated that for the meantime, they have fortunately managed to move much faster than their initial plan and achieve good scientific breakthroughs in terms of science production, number of citations to articles, and education of scientists who are able to work in the field of nuclear medicine.

 Dr. Zakavi stated that expansion of physical space was one of the intended infrastructures in this center that was fortunately achieved. Establishing the Thyroid Cancer and the Hospitalization Wards, development of thyroid ultrasound, and expansion of the Nuclear Medicine Department were among the other infrastructural goals of this center that were achieved.

Head of  The Nuclear Medicine Research Center pointed out that providing and purchasing necessary and modern devices in this area of science is part of the required infrastructure that has not yet been achieved due to financial problems.

 Dr. Zakavi added that measures have recently been taken in hopes for further achievements and in doing so, they have moved faster than the 5-year prospect of the center in all the cases.

Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center stated that in this short period of five years, they have published more than 200 indexed papers in international websites and have published joint papers and established relationships with over 10 different global centers, hence this center is honorably among research centers with the highest levels of global communications in their records.

Publishing the Asia-Pacific Journal of Nuclear Medicine

 He pointed out that the Asia-Pacific Journal of Nuclear Medicine was published in this research center, which is considered as the official organization of Asia Pacific Federation of Nuclear Medicine.

This researcher of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences stated that as the editor of the journal, he is accompanied by experts from Australia, Japan, Philippines, and Kuwait. He added that they will publish this journal for five consecutive years with an editorial board with members from all Asian countries.

  Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center added that this journal has also been indexed in PubMed Central from the first issue, which is considered an honor.

 According to Dr. Zakavi, the Nuclear Medicine Research Center of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences is one of the best clinical research centers of this university and pointed out that this center had so far been introduced and honored twice as the top research center and the best clinical research team by the university.

 He stated that this board consists of seven faculty members including 5 Nuclear Medicine experts, one Nuclear Pharmacist, one Medical Physics expert, and a faculty member from the Department of Chemistry.

The Nuclear Medicine Research Center, a Communication Bridge between Basic and Clinical Sciences

 Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center introduced this research field and stated that this discipline makes use of experts from both Basic and Clinical Sciences and it is in fact a communication bridge between these two sciences; that is why people with different specialties are present in this board.

Pointing to the lack of necessary devices for nuclear medical investigations, Dr. Zakavi stated that as a result of lack of necessary devices for nuclear medical investigations, researchers of this center have turned to investigations for which there is no need for any devices.

 He added that a number of investigations on the treatment of thyroid patients and scout node, as well as Meta-analyzes, which do not need any devices, have been conducted at this research center.

 Stating that provision of modern equipment in this research center is a significant requirement, Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center added that the equipment of this center must be upgraded so that scientific production increases through increased investigation.

 Dr. Zakavi stated that they must be provided with modern equipment in order to operate more actively in the Department and the Research Center in the area of Nuclear Medicine, and they hope to expand their research projects in different areas with the purchase of modern equipment.

Extending International and Academic Communications, One of the Main Projects of the Second 5 Years Agenda

 On the prospect of this center, he stated that within the prospect of the second 5 years, from 2016 to 2021, attempts have been made in order to train experts from the Middle East and even distant countries.

This Researcher of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences stated that the reason of this prospect is their expertise, which is far higher than Asian countries and even countries such as Japan and Australia, in some branches of Nuclear Medicine. Therefore, modern equipment is required in order to transfer this knowledge to other departments. 

 Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center added that an exchange of assistants and scientists between developed countries and Iran requires possession of advanced devices in this science. Therefore, this issue needs to be taken into consideration.

According To the Scheduled Plan, We Must Have Become the Best Nuclear Medicine Research Center in the Region by the Year 2021

 Dr. Zakavi pointed out that they must have become the best nuclear medicine research center in the region by the year 2021, and in this regard, they will reconsider the prospect of this center and schedule a new program regarding the existing defects and equipment.

 Pointing to the high power of partners from other centers in attracting budget, he added that despite budgetary problems as routine problems, our partners in all the other centers have fortunately managed to attract budget from Atomic Energy Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, and charities.

  Pointing to the big projects of this research center, Head of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center stated that a big project called “The Therapeutic Response of Hyperthyroidism to Radioactive Iodine” is currently being carried out. This projects deals with treatment using different protocols.

 Dr. Zakavi added that the project started about 4 years ago and will continue for two more years based on predictions made and will come into operation after 6 years.

Big Projects on the Treatment of Cancer Patients Are Under Way

 Pointing to ongoing projects of the Nuclear Medicine Research Center on thyroid cancer patients, he stated that in projects under way for these patients, attempts have been made to examine the level of iodine therapy and its different protocols.

 This researcher of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences informed about the use of traditional medicine for reducing the complications of iodine therapy in thyroid cancer patients. He stated that the efforts of some scientists of the center in the examination of scout node and the value of detecting this node in different diseases regarding gastroenterology, obstetrics and gynecology, and urology are among the main topics of research projects in this center.

Dr. Zakavi emphasized that scout node is actually a lymph node which is the first node that tumors reach. By detecting this node with radioactive materials and its removal by the surgeon during surgery, proper decisions can be made on development of surgery.

 Pointing to the significance of detecting the scout node, he added that when the scout node is engaged with the tumor, the surgeon is allowed to remove more nodes, otherwise long surgery will be harmful.