Qatar partnership aims to improve cancer detection

LAB WORK: GE Healthcare and Qatar Science and Technology Park will work on new ways for the early detection of cancer. (Getty Images)

GE Healthcare, the healthcare business of General Electric Company, and Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) have entered into a partnership related to advanced technologies for the early detection of breast cancer.  

The goal of the joint research programme is to develop new and innovative technologies for screening and diagnosis of breast cancer using the latest developments in digital X-ray mammography.  

According to the World Health Organisation, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the world.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in the Arab countries and accounting for 13-35 percent of all female cancers.

Significantly, there is an emerging regional trend of younger women being diagnosed with breast cancer; almost 50 percent of women diagnosed are below age 50, with a median age of 49-53 years, compared with a median age of 63 in industrialised nations.

GE Healthcare plans to establish a new breast cancer team at QSTP in Doha, whose work will include the identification and validation of new and advanced mammography technologies, the development of new software interfaces and the performance of clinical trials.

Products developed from this programme will be sold by GE Healthcare globally.

Dr Tidu Maini, executive chairman of Qatar Science & Technology Park, said: "Our partnership with GE Healthcare is a step towards making Qatar a global medical innovator while delivering real health benefits for the local community."

According to Qatar's Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), between 1989 and 2004, breast cancer accounted for only 13 percent of the cancer cases in Qatar, but the incidence of breast cancer has been growing alarmingly over the last few years.

"Around the world, more than 1.2 million people annually are diagnosed with breast cancer, and the incidence of breast cancer at an earlier age is on the rise in this region. We are pleased to partner with the QSTP team to develop advanced applications to support the earlier detection of this prevalent disease," said Richard di Benedetto, president and CEO, GE Healthcare - Eastern and Africa Growth Markets (EAGM).

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