Guntur GGH Unveils Andhra’s First Government PET Scan Facility

This is the first time a PET scan facility has been established in a state-run hospital in Andhra Pradesh, a service that until now was limited to private corporate institutions.

In a significant expansion of public cancer care, the coalition government has installed an advanced Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan system at Guntur Government General Hospital (GGH).

This is the first time a PET scan facility has been established in a state-run hospital in Andhra Pradesh, a service that until now was limited to private corporate institutions.

Health Minister Y. Satya Kumar Yadav and Union Minister Pemmasani Chandrasekhar are scheduled to inaugurate the PET-CT scan facility at Guntur GGH’s Natco Cancer Institute on Thursday.

Imported from the United States at a cost of ₹18 crore, the PET scan unit will offer free diagnostic services to poor and middle-class patients. Comparable tests currently cost around ₹20,000 per scan in private hospitals.

In addition, the government has sanctioned ₹41 crore for advanced oncology equipment, including a linear accelerator (Linac), HDR brachytherapy, and CT stimulator systems, to further strengthen cancer care at the centre.

Trial runs of the PET scan have already been completed on 50 patients, officials said. The Natco Cancer Institute now provides a comprehensive range of services, including radiation, surgical, medical, nuclear, preventive oncology, and palliative care.

According to Yadav, the PET scan facility will support multiple departments — including cardiology, neurology and orthopaedics- in diagnosing complex conditions.

The minister noted that, over the past four-and-a-half years, the Natco Cancer Centre has treated nearly 20,000 outpatients and 7,000 inpatients. Until now, PET scan services were available only at 18 private corporate hospitals in cities such as Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Kurnool and Anantapur.

He also pointed out that while private hospitals charge up to ₹20,000 per PET scan, the new facility at Guntur GGH will be available free of cost, as part of the NDA government’s initiative to equip the Natco Cancer Centre with state-of-the-art medical technology worth ₹41 crore.

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