An Experience of Atomic Energy Cancer Hospital (AECH NORI) Islamabad
IAEA ANCHOR CENTRE
RAYS OF HOPE
Making strides against cancer
Recognizing the contributions of AECH NORI in the field of cancer diagnosis and management, patient services, education and training, research, quality assurance, and quality control, AECH NORI was declared IAEA Anchor center under Rays of Hope initiative in September 2023. In fact, NORI was one of the first five IAEA anchor centers. The Rays of Hope initiative is aimed at helping less privileged countries in establishing radiotherapy services for cancer patients. This is attributed to perseverance, hard work, commitment and dedication of NORI employees under continuous supervision and guidance of seniors in Pakistan Atomic energy commission.
AECH NORI is one of the 21 cancer hospitals working under Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission situated in the heart of Islamabad and catering a population of more than 18 million, coming not only from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad but also from upper Punjab, KPK, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir as well as Afghanistan and the Middle east.
Lower middle-income countries bear nearly 70% of the global cancer burden, yet only about 30% have access to radiotherapy, resulting in a significant survival gap. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, cancer incidence and mortality are substantially higher in low-income countries than in high-income ones.
Pakistan, as a lower middle-income country, faces similar challenges; however, the situation is comparatively less bleak. Currently, 36 radiation oncology facilities serve a population exceeding 250 million, with 18 operating under the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. As per GLOBOCAN 2022, Pakistan recorded approximately 1.8 million cancer cases in 2022, rising to 1.9 million in 2025, with projections exceeding 2.2 million by 2030.
AECH NORI has successfully established comprehensive diagnostic and non-surgical cancer treatment facilities under one roof, comparable to those in developed countries, earning international recognition. Despite challenges typical of lower middle-income countries such as infrastructure gaps, workforce shortages, financial constraints, referral barriers, and limited precision tools, the hospital has made remarkable progress.
Founded in 1983 with basic diagnostic and radiotherapy services, NORI has kept pace with rapid global advancements in radiation oncology, nuclear medicine, and diagnostic radiology. In response to rising patient load and evolving needs, the latest state-of-the-art equipment has been installed with approval under PC-1 by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Government of Pakistan.
The hospital has fully equipped departments of Clinical and Radiation Oncology, Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and Pathology Labs supported by the departments of Medical Physics, Biomedical engineering and informatics.
The department of Oncology provides the whole spectrum of services required for cancer management and control, extending from cancer prevention, screening and awareness to early diagnosis and timely treatment, follow up, rehabilitation and counselling under supervision of qualified and experienced radiation oncologists, medical physicists, nurses and RTTs. The department has dedicated filter clinic, breast care clinic, state of the art indoor facility and chemotherapy bay. The department treats all kinds of solid tumours with both systemic treatment and radiotherapy irrespective of stage of the disease, age and financial status of the patients.
The Radiation Oncology department of NORI offers all the advanced radiotherapy techniques including 3D CRT, IMRT, VMAT, SRS, SBRT, SFRT, Lattice, IGRT, motion management and high dose rate MR guided brachytherapy using state of the art high energy linear accelerators (UNIQUE, CLINAC IX and True Beam), CyberKnife, 4D CT simulator and MR simulator.
The department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging is providing a range of diagnostic nuclear scans and also theranostic services for the treatment of a variety of tumours using radioisotopes. The department is equipped with digital PET/CT camera with 16.5 MeV cyclotron which is capable of producing 18-FDG and Gallium-68. The department has two SPECT CT cameras besides conventional cameras.
AECH NORI is also providing endoscopy services and a wide range of pathology lab investigations through its state-of-the-art hematology, chemistry, histopathology and PCR labs. It is worth mentioning that the PCR lab at NORI is the first one in the country to have done research on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and its association with cervical cancer and the effect of treatment leading to sero-negativity.
It is pertinent to mention that the number of diagnostic procedures is also rising in parallel to the increasing prevalence of cancer.
The management of NORI believes in good quality services and a testament to this is that all the departments at AECH NORI are ISO certified since 2008. Furthermore, NORI has been proudly part of all three IAEA quality audits in the fields of Radiation Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Radiology.
To reiterate, it is worthwhile to mention that AECH NORI has been a hub of teaching, training and research in the fields of cancer diagnosis and management. Till date, the hospital has trained a number of clinical and radiation oncologists, nuclear physicians, radiologists, medical physicists, technologists and nurses who are serving not only in Pakistan but globally as well bringing laurels to the country. Five specialties have been recognized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) for fellowship training which include Radiation Oncology, Nuclear Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology, Histopathology and Hematology with the department of Radiation oncology being recognized since 1991. The hospital is also providing clinical training and research platform to the undergraduate and postgraduate students of PIEAS University in the fields of Radiation Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Physics. Other than the above mentioned institutes, AECH NORI has a strong collaboration with a number of medical and non-medical universities, hospitals, national and international organisations.
Another feather in the cap of NORI is conducting regular site specific multi-disciplinary tumour boards, physically and virtually, for the optimum care of cancer patients since 1987. Till date thousands of patients have benefited from these meetings. We have been recognized in this regard at the global level as we have been a regular part of an international tumour board, ASPRONET (Asia-Pacific Radiation Oncology Network), which holds separate monthly meetings for Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists and RTTs.
To further emphasize on NORI’s role in research and development, the hospital has produced hundreds of national and international publications in well reputed journals with a cumulative impact factor of more than 500. Additionally, the qualified experts of the hospital are reviewers and members of editorial boards of national and international journals.
Collaboration with IAEA deserves special mention in this writing. AECH NORI has been working with IAEA for more than 3 decades and the agency has helped a lot in capacity building and improvement of infrastructure in the field of cancer diagnosis and management through fellowships, scientific visits, training courses, workshops and equipment provision. The hospital has been hosting national and regional workshops in the fields of Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine which have been a source of professional development in the work force of the country in particular and the region at large. To further strengthen this collaboration, two DGs of the IAEA, Mr. Yukiya Amano and Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, have visited the hospital and have commended upon the exemplary services being provided. As an IAEA anchor center under the Rays of Hope initiative, AECH NORI is contributing to all the 3 pillars of the initiative including teaching and training, research, quality assurance and quality improvement by hosting fellowships and scientific visits and organizing physical and hybrid workshops, assisting the agency in formulating research protocols and providing experts for IAEA missions.
Awareness of the public regarding primary prevention and early detection of cancer has been a cornerstone in the policy of the hospital since its inception. AECH NORI has been running a strong cancer awareness campaign and has been regularly holding a number of programs throughout the year and this is supplemented with the use of electronic and print media to spread the message far and wide. NORI has been declared smoke free for the past decade with the complete prohibition of smoking in the hospital premises.
The strides the hospital has taken up till now is just the beginning. The institute aims to continuously evolve and improve over the course of time with the goal of bringing the best possible care accessible to the people of Pakistan.
Original source: pk