Quironsalud Proton Therapy Center

Quirónsalud Proton Therapy Centre

Quirónsalud, the largest hospital group in Spain and in Europe, puts itself at the forefront of Oncology by building the first Proton Therapy Centre in Spain, which will open its doors in the last quarter of 2019.

The new Proton Therapy Centre is a modern center, equipped with cutting-edge technology.

Furthermore, it will be a space of innovation and research, contributing to an improvement in cancer treatment results and the quality of life of patients, through its projects.

Outstanding fields

Quirónsalud Proton Therapy Centre has internationally-renowned specialists and experts in the approach and treatment of particular complex illnesses.

The most advanced technique

Thanks to the physical properties of protons, proton therapy is currently the safest and most advanced radiotherapy technique for treating certain kinds of cancer. Applied in specific doses, protons can act with precision inside tissue, achieving a better anti-tumor activity and causing less damage to healthy tissue. Therefore, this therapy is suitable for pediatric patients and in certain types of tumors:    

• Pediatric tumors
• Eye and brain tumors
• Sarcoma of the head and neck

How does the proton therapy system work?

This new center brings together all the necessary technology for tumor treatment in one multifunctional room. The proton therapy system, named Proteus One®, includes a tumor scanning system to enable doctors to use the most suitable dosage in each treatment area. It has the most advanced imaging equipment and can rotate 220 degrees over the patient to apply the proton beam from any angle

Benefits

A therapy with multiple indications

Thanks to this novel therapy and these experienced professionals, it will be possible to treat many cases of cancer, especially brain tumors and those located along the spine. These are especially tumors near vital organs that need to be preserved, such as those near the brainstem, the optic pathway, the spinal cord, tumors of the head and neck area, pediatric tumors and recurrent cancers, including later ocular tumors.
"It is especially useful in tumors that require high doses to be controlled and are located near structures or organs very sensitive to radiation. Or in pediatric tumors, since the organs are still developing and are even more sensitive, so it is even more important to avoid irradiating these tissues, "explains Dr. Ares.

Thus, thanks to the physical properties of protons, it is possible to precisely concentrate the radiation dose specified by radiotherapeutic oncologists, thus achieving in many cases greater local control of the disease and less damage to adjacent healthy tissue. "The system uses a high-frequency irradiation beam, well adapted to respiratory synchronization and with small beams that ‘paint ’the tumor with high precision and with modulated intensity, the most advanced technology today," added Dr. Mazal.

Quirónsalud has chosen for its Proton Therapy Center a team called Proteus One, a system optimized for clinical treatments with the widest international experience. It is based on an accelerator of the cyclotron family adopted by 70% of the centers that offer this therapy in the world. In particular, the Quirónsalud synchrocyclotron is an energy-efficient model when using cryogenics and is among the most compact in the world. In addition, the system acquired by Quirónsalud is already adapted to evolve towards the techniques that are investigated for the near future, such as rotational therapy and very high-intensity irradiations, called Flash.

The installation also has the most advanced imaging systems and robotic system for patient positioning, as well as a General Electric’s dual-energy scanner for treatment planning.

This system is manufactured by the European company Ion Beam Applications (IBA), a market leader. In fact, there are already 30 centers in operation (15 of them in Europe) that have treated more than 70,000 patients with this technology, including reference centers and pioneers such as the Massachusetts General Hospital of the Harvard Medical School (States United) and the Curie Institute in Paris (France), and there are 23 other centers around the world that are in the process of installing equipment with similar characteristics. Once the system commissioning in Madrid was completed by the Quirónsalud team, external audits were carried out with reference centers and laboratories in France, England, and the USA. In addition to the incorporated professionals with experience in the field, the new team has been trained in proton therapy centers in the United States (University of Pennsylvania, Willis Knighton Cancer center), Switzerland (Paul Scherrer Institute) and Italy (Trento)

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