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Proposed Miami Twp. proton center offers new kind of cancer treatment

Proposed proton cancer center would offer positive therapy and an active lifestyle.

Proton cancer therapy is promising, but pricey

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By Tom Beyerlein, Staff Writer Updated 11:37 PM Saturday, November 7, 2009

Guests can play golf and tennis, take walks, run, swim and work out in the gym, or just go sightseeing.

This, according to the National Association for Proton Therapy, is the kind of “radiation vacation” that awaits cancer patients at the nation’s six proton therapy centers.

“You wouldn’t even know they’re having radiation treatments,” said Dr. Jerry Slater, radiation medicine chairman at Loma Linda University in California and the brother of the man who wants to bring proton therapy to the Dayton area.

Optivus Proton Therapy Inc., which is based at Loma Linda, confirmed on Friday, Nov. 6, that it is negotiating with Miami Twp. on developing a $170 million, for-profit proton center that would open at Interstate 75’s new Austin Boulevard interchange by 2013. The therapy promises painless cancer treatment with almost no side effects and, possibly, better survival odds.

“Sloan Kettering characterized it as the holy grail of radiation oncology,” said Leonard Arzt, who heads the National Association for Proton Therapy in Washington, D.C. “I personally would characterize it as a breakthrough. There are some people who think it will replace standard X-ray (cancer) radiation treatment, but that’s a long way off.”

Unlike X-rays, proton beams can deliver most of their energy directly to the tumor and then stop without passing through the body, minimizing damage to surrounding tissue. This allows oncologists to blast the cancer with a higher radiation dose, possibly improving its effectiveness.

But experts at the National Cancer Institute say more study is needed to find out if proton beams really work better than X-rays at improving survivability and quality of life. The therapy also is expensive.

“Proton therapy has wonderful potential as a treatment for some cancers,” said Dr. Kevin Camphausen, who heads NCI’s radiation oncology branch. “But I don’t think its use should become widespread until we can validate where it’s needed and where it has the greatest potential benefit for patients.”

Staff writer Kristin McAllister contributed to this report.

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