Doctors Amazed: The Malignant Tumor That Had Already Spread Disappeared

Gonen Klein, 66, from Kibbutz Degania Bet, has fully recovered from metastatic prostate cancer after treatment with lutetium at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed. Imaging tests showed no evidence of the disease, and his PSA level dropped to zero. The treatment, provided on an outpatient basis within the health basket, is intended for patients whose disease has progressed despite hormonal or chemotherapy treatment.

Gonen Klein, a 66-year-old resident of Kibbutz Degania Bet, suffered from metastatic prostate cancer that had spread to his bones and other organs. After undergoing treatment at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed, imaging tests showed no evidence of the disease, and his PSA level reached zero. The doctors were surprised to find that the malignant tumor and metastases had completely disappeared. The treatment uses a radioactive substance called lutetium (Lutetium-177 PSMA), considered one of the most promising developments in nuclear medicine. It is based on targeted therapy, where the substance binds to a protein present in high concentrations on cancer cells and delivers radiation directly to them. The service is provided on an outpatient basis as part of the health basket, and is intended for patients with metastatic prostate cancer whose disease has progressed despite hormonal or chemotherapy treatment. Dr. Israel Sandler, the institute's director, learned the method in Italy and brought the knowledge to Israel. The institute uses the Veriton imaging system, a SPECT camera unique in Israel. Klein urged men not to give up on simple blood tests for early detection. His wife Rivka said, "I got him back." Prof. Salman Zarka, the center's director, emphasized the goal of reducing gaps between the periphery and the center.