MANISTIQUE, Mich. (WZMQ) – An Upper Peninsula hospital is offering a new treatment for patients with advanced metastatic prostate cancer.
In collaboration with Green Bay Oncology, Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital in Manistique has launched a Nuclear Medicine service line utilizing Pluvicto, an FDA-approved intravenous infusion. It is approved for patients who have already undergone hormone therapy and/or chemotherapy.
“They also have to have a PSMA [Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen] PET scan, and that’s to detect if they have the PSMA protein on their prostate cancer,” explained Dr. Erich Smith, a diagnostic radiologist and the director of Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital’s Nuclear Medicine Therapy Clinic. “Pluvicto is going to target that same thing. It binds to the prostate cancer cell. Since it’s radioactive, it’ll cause DNA damage to the cancer and shrink or, hopefully, kill the tumor cell.”
Schoolcraft Memorial is the first hospital in the U.P. to offer this therapy. Dr. Smith says when he approached hospital administrators about bringing Pluvicto to Manistique a year ago, they moved quickly to make it a reality.
In addition to providing a specialized therapy option for prostate cancer patients, the launch of Pluvicto therapy allows Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital to better serve those in need of care.
“People were having to travel way down into Wisconsin or downstate to get this treatment,” Smith said. “In my opinion, if we’re able to do it and there’s one patient in the area that we can stop from having to travel hundreds of miles to get the treatment done, I think it’s worth it.”
“It shows that we’re really trying to embrace this ‘care closer to home’ concept,” added Schoolcraft Memorial CEO Robert Mach. “It’s pretty exciting.”
Pluvicto treatments are administered every six weeks for a period of approximately eight months. Each visit lasts roughly one hour and includes a brief infusion, followed by monitoring.
Patients who think Pluvicto therapy could be right for them are encouraged to speak with their oncologist about getting a referral. To establish care with one of Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital’s family medicine providers, contact the Rural Health Clinic at (906) 341-2153.
