The Punjab government has acquired five new cryoablation machines for major public hospitals as part of an expansion of advanced cancer treatment facilities across the province.
The machines, purchased on the directions of the chief minister, have been dispatched to hospitals for installation. Two will be installed at the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer in Lahore, while Nishtar Hospital, Allied Hospital and Benazir Bhutto Hospital will each receive one.
Punjab introduced its first cryoablation facility at Mayo Hospital in 2025, where officials said more than 70 patients with Stage 1 cancer have since received treatment free of charge.
Cryoablation is a minimally invasive procedure that uses extremely low temperatures to destroy abnormal or cancerous tissue. Officials said expanding the technology to additional hospitals would improve access to specialised treatment and reduce the need for patients to travel to Lahore.
Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood said the introduction of modern medical technologies was part of efforts to strengthen Punjab’s healthcare infrastructure and provide cancer patients with better treatment options.
He described the installation of the new machines as an important step towards making specialised cancer care more widely available across the province.
According to the health secretary, the provincial government has already provided billions of rupees worth of cancer treatment free of charge to patients in Punjab.