Doctors in Abu Dhabi worked for five hours to place a chemotherapy pump inside a cancer patient in his sixties, an operation that could signal a new era for treatment of the disease in the UAE.
The hepatic artery infusion pump (HAIP) delivers chemotherapy drugs directly into tumours. The operation was carried out for the first time in the country on September 7.
It was done by the Burjeel Cancer Institute and aims to ensure maximum drug concentration at the tumour site, while significantly reducing side effects such as nausea, fatigue and weakened immunity. The patient, who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer that had spread to his liver, is now recovering at home.
Chemotherapy drugs are traditionally administered using an IV drip, a process that can take hours. But the pump delivers treatment directly to the tumour, which means it is a much shorter course of therapy, as well as using fewer drugs.
“The success of this operation represents a major breakthrough in the treatment of liver tumours resulting from metastatic colorectal cancer,” said Dr Mohammad Adileh, head of oncological surgery at Burjeel Medical City, Abu Dhabi. "It places the UAE among advanced nations offering such highly complex treatment. This improves patients’ chances of receiving curative surgical treatment and achieving longer survival rates.”
Targeted tumour treatment
Liver tumours derive most of their blood flow from the hepatic artery. A small medical device was surgically implanted under the skin of the patient to continuously deliver highly concentrated chemotherapy drugs directly into the organ’s blood supply.
While the operation has previously been carried out at cancer centres elsewhere in the world, this was the UAE’s first case. Prof Humaid Al Shamsi, chief executive of BCI, said the therapy was a turning point in treatment for liver cancer.
“We are proud to offer this advanced option for the first time in the UAE and the Gulf, supported by world-class medical expertise,” he said. “Our hope is that many patients across the region will benefit, achieving improved outcomes and enhanced quality of life. This achievement also ensures that patients receive state-of-the-art cancer care close to home, reducing the need to travel abroad for such advanced treatments.
"It contributes to the UAE’s position as a regional leader in cancer care and medical tourism.”
Colorectal cancer is the most common form of cancer in men. It can be usually detected from a stool sample and colonoscopy. However, breast cancer is the most common form of the disease in the UAE, with 1,456 cases diagnosed in 2023, up 27 per cent from 1,139 in 2021. That is almost three times the number of colorectal cancer cases recorded in 2023, which was 588.
To improve early detection of breast cancer, the BCI offers complimentary screenings and educational sessions across the UAE from its mobile mammogram truck. Doctors will teach women how to perform regular self-examinations and share important information about symptoms and risk factors.
It will call at shopping malls, business centres and schools, including Emirates National School MBZ Campus, Abu Dhabi Indian School, Zayed City Centre Mall, Marina Mall and Deerfields Mall.
Cases on rise but deaths set to fall
Cancer cases have almost doubled around the world since 1990, reaching 18.5 million in 2023. That tally does not include nonmelanoma skin cancers. While population growth, better diagnosis and improved recognition of early symptoms have contributed to the increase, the number of people dying from cancer has also risen by 74 per cent in that time, reaching 10.4 million in 2023.
The majority of those affected live in low and middle-income countries, a report published The Lancet found. Risk factors including smoking, unhealthy diet and high blood sugar have contributed to almost half of all cancer deaths worldwide.
Dr Rajitha Lokadasan, a consultant of medical oncology at NMC Specialty Hospital, Abu Dhabi, said that, while it can be challenging to record long-term data, people are being diagnosed with cancer at a younger age.
“The absolute number of cancer cases is increasing across the world,” she said. “Overall, there has been a decline of age standardised incidence and mortality rate in all high income countries, which includes the UAE.
“This can be attributed to better prevention, vaccinations, lifestyle modification, better treatment and health facilities in the UAE. The UAE has a primarily young population and more than 80 per cent are expatriates, so the data collection for this moving population has always been challenging.”
As treatments such as targeted therapies improve, the chances of surviving cancer increase. But early detection remains the best way to beat the disease, particularly in developing nations.
“People are presenting with cancer in its early stages, which is often curable,” Dr Lokadasan added. "Because of better awareness though things like mammograms, the number of people dying from cancer will definitely begin coming down.”
