SEATTLE, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
announced today it plans to develop a state-of-the-art proton-beam therapy
center that will make this leading-edge form of radiation treatment
available to patients in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and
Wyoming.
The center will begin accepting patients in 2010. Only four
proton-therapy centers are operating currently across the United States,
the nearest in southern California.
"The SCCA Proton Therapy Center represents the future of radiation
therapy in the Pacific Northwest," said Fred Appelbaum, M.D., SCCA
executive director and president. "We are excited by the possibilities it
offers, both for patients and research. It is a formidable new weapon we'll
have to combat cancer."
Proton beams deliver precise doses of charged particles to tumors,
thereby minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Unlike
conventional photon- based (X-ray) radiation treatment, proton beams
deliver more radiation precisely to the targeted tumor. Higher doses to
tumors increase the likelihood that tumors will be killed. Proton beams are
used today to treat many solid-tumor cancers such as those of the eye,
skull base, head and neck, and prostate. However, the potential exists to
treat many more types of tumors, including those of the lung, breast and
abdomen, according to George Laramore, M.D., chairman of the Department of
Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington.
Researchers are particularly interested in the use of proton-beam
therapy for children, who are more sensitive to the side effects of
radiation than adults.
"At Children's Hospital we are very excited about the prospects of
adding proton therapy to our arsenal of cancer-fighting treatments," said
Tom Hansen, Children's president and CEO. "Children are more vulnerable to
the side effects of conventional radiation, such as growth retardation and
secondary tumors. Proton therapy will greatly diminish these concerns."
The proton-beam therapy center continues the tradition of successful
partnership between members of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance: Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Children's Hospital & Regional Medical
Center and UW Medicine. All three institutions will be involved in the
governance of the facility, which will be called the SCCA Proton Therapy
Center (SPTC).
"The SCCA was formed to help accelerate the development of new cancer
therapies and to broaden access to these therapies," said Norm Hubbard,
SCCA executive vice president. "The emergence of proton technology fits
exactly with our mission and we're committed to creating this center as a
resource for patients throughout the Pacific Northwest."
As one of the first steps to develop the facility, the SCCA has entered
into an agreement with Proton Cancer Centers of America LLC to examine the
financial, construction and operational issues of a proton beam center.
Proton Cancer Centers of America specializes in developing proton-therapy
centers using equipment manufactured by Hitachi Ltd. The new center is
estimated to cost about $100 million and will be privately financed. Under
a tentative timeline, groundbreaking will occur at the end of 2007 and the
center will treat its first patients in late 2010.
In collaboration with NBBJ, a Seattle architectural firm, evaluation of
sites is under way. NBBJ was the design architect for the proton facility
at Loma Linda Medical Center in California. Initial design requirements
call for a 60,000-square-foot building to house a single synchrotron
particle accelerator, three treatment rooms, research laboratories and
offices. The SPTC will have the capacity to treat about 1,200 patients a
year.
About Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, established in 1998, unites the adult and
pediatric cancer-care services of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,
UW Medicine and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center. A major
focus of SCCA is to speed the transfer of new diagnostic and treatment
techniques from the research setting to the patient bedside while providing
premier, patient- focused cancer care. Patients who come to SCCA receive
the latest research- based cancer therapies as well as cutting-edge
treatments for a number of non- malignant diseases under development by its
partner organizations. SCCA has three clinical-care sites: an outpatient
clinic on the Fred Hutchinson campus, a pediatric-inpatient unit at
Children's and an adult-inpatient unit at UW Medical Center. For more
information about SCCA, visit http://www.seattlecca.org .
Media Contact:
Dean Forbes, (206) 667-2896
dforbes@fhcrc.org
SOURCE Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
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Related links:
http://www.fhcrc.org
http://www.seattlecca.org/
CONTACT:
Dean Forbes of Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, +1-206-667-2896, or dforbes@fhcrc.org, for
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
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