Quirónsalud will establish the first center for proton therapy in Spain
Madrid, Spain, 4th January 2017 - Quirónsalud, in its compromise to stay at the forefront of the latest medical treatments, will invest around 40 million euros to build and equip the first center of proton therapy in Spain, that will start treating the first patients in early 2019. The center will be located in Madrid and will be opened to patients from all over the world, both from the public and private healthcare systems. The staff will work in a coordinated way with the corresponding patient’s doctors to guarantee continuous assistance and supervision. In addition to offering an excellent service to cancer patients, the center will be a space for innovation and research in cancer treatments, that will contribute to the improvement of the patient’s quality of life.Proton radiotherapy is currently the chosen treatment for most cancer types due to its equal or superior efficacy when compared to traditional radiotherapy methods, and to its reduced number of secondary effects, which are eliminated to a great extent. Among the benefits of the proton therapy, the most notable are the minimal to non-existent radiation of the areas surrounding the tumor, the lack of appearance of secondary tumors after radiation, and the improvement of the patient’s quality of life.
To date, more than 130.000 patients have been treated with protons in the existing 58 centers, that are expected to increase to 125 in 2020.
In Spain, there are no proton treatment centers and therefore, the opening of one will allow Spanish patients to be treated in their own environment. Currently, the patients in need of such a treatment and patient’s family members must undergo extensive bureaucratic processes and travel to other countries to receive the best treatment for their illness. This, together with the emotional impact and the unsettlement of family life, entails significant expenses on top of the treatment costs.
The commonly accepted indications and indications for adults with high potential benefit from proton therapy account for 0,6% and 3% of the patients treated with radiotherapy, respectively. Only in the Community of Madrid and according to the agreement established in the Strategic Plan of Radiotherapeutic Oncology, more than 400 patients will clearly benefit from a proton treatment; in these respective cases, proton therapy is more recommended than the conventional radiotherapy.
According to international studies and research results, proton therapy would be the chosen treatment for Chordoma and Chondrosarcoma, intraocular melanomas that are not adequate for plaque brachytherapy, and tumors in children and adolescents, including those that require craneospinal radiation, low degree glioma, ependimoma, craniopharyngioma, germinal tumor cells, hypophysis and pineal tumors (not pineoblastomas), rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, pelvis sarcomas and mediastinal lymphoma. Due to its lower radiation dose and the absence of secondary effects, proton therapy is the treatment of choice for children that require radiotherapy.
Additionally, there is another group of tumors for which proton therapy is clearly recommended due to the lower risk of secondary effects. Among all indications, proton therapy is indicated in more than 15% of the patients that undergo radiotherapy.
With the new proton therapy center, Quirónsalud reinforces its focus on innovation and continuous improvement of one if its main areas of excellence: the service to cancer patients. The oncology services of the Quirónsalud hospitals are leaded by renowned specialists in medical oncology and radiotherapy both at national and international level. This team of professionals has been one of the main drivers of the project.
