1st LD-Writethru: Shanghai to establish proton therapy center for children

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, March 05, 2021
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SHANGHAI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A Shanghai proton therapy center is expected to take the lead in providing treatment for Chinese children with cancer in about two years.

The center will be jointly established by the Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai Fosun Healthcare (Group) Co., Ltd., and Mevion Medical Technology Group Limited, under an agreement signed this week.

About 22,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in China. Surgery and chemotherapy are the main treatments.

Proton therapy is a new type of radiation therapy that uses high-energy beams to treat tumors. Protons from hydrogen atoms are extracted and accelerated up to 70 percent of the speed of light. Its energy is concentrated directly on the tumors with minimal harm to surrounding healthy tissue. It causes fewer side effects on brain and spine growth in children compared with traditional treatments, said Dong Kuiran, a senior oncologist at the children's hospital.

"There are many proton therapy centers under construction in China, but most will provide treatment for adults only. A lack of doctors is another obstacle," Dong said.

Many families travel abroad for proton therapy, which costs millions of yuan in many cases.

The partners in the Shanghai center also plan to establish a training base and promote Sino-U.S. research-and-development cooperation.

Huang Guoying, president of the children's hospital, said his hospital was looking forward to improving the treatment of children's tumors in China and promoting the high-quality development of children's health through this multi-party strategic cooperation. Enditem

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