UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2017 | Page 16
research update
UAB Brings Proton Therapy
for Advanced Cancer
Treatment to Birmingham
B y B O B S H E PA R D
UAB will partner with Proton International to bring proton therapy, one of the most
technically advanced forms of cancer-killing radiation, to Alabama. Proton therapy delivers
a more precise dose of radiation to a tumor and can avoid damage to healthy surrounding
tissue better than conventional X-ray radiation.
“This is a
significant step
forward in cancer
treatment for
residents of
Alabama and
surrounding
areas. Proton
therapy is an
extremely
advanced cancer-
fighting radiation
technology.”
Will Ferniany,
Ph.D., CEO of the
UAB Health System
14
U A B
“This is a significant step forward in
cancer treatment for residents of Alabama and
surrounding areas,” says Will Ferniany, Ph.D.,
CEO of the UAB Health System. “Proton
therapy is an extremely advanced cancer-
fighting radiation technology. Coupled with
the skill, experience and resources of the UAB
Comprehensive Cancer Center, the UAB Proton
Therapy Center will be a life-changing resource
for thousands of cancer patients throughout our
region.”
Proton International, one of the world’s
leading developers of proton radiation facilities,
will build the UAB Proton Center on the current
site of parking lot 55, at 20th Street and Fifth
Avenue. UAB physicians and staff will operate
the center.
“Proton therapy will allow us to treat deep-
seeded cancers and minimize the radiation dose
delivered to surrounding normal structures,” says
James A. Bonner, M.D., the Merle M. Salter
Endowed Professor, Chairman of the UAB
School of Medicine Department of Radiation
Oncology and president of the University
of Alabama Health Services Foundation.
“This will be the first proton therapy center
in Alabama, and we are excited to offer this
cutting-edge approach for patients and families in
Birmingham, across Alabama and beyond.”
C O M P R E H E N S I V E
C A N C E R
C E N T E R
There are 25 active proton therapy centers
in the United States, most affiliated with major
cancer centers. The roughly $50-million project
has been approved by an administrative law judge
appointed by the Alabama State Health Planning
and Development Agency. Groundbreaking is
expected in the summer of 2017, and construction
and testing will take about two years before the
building is clinically operational.
“Proton therapy is already having a
tremendous impact on the health of people
around the world,” says Chris Chandler, CEO
of Proton International. “Experts conservatively
estimate that about 250,000 cancer patients in
the United States alone could benefit from proton
therapy. We are excited to partner with UAB and
put this outstanding tool into the hands of the
best oncologists in Alabama.”
Proton therapy uses an aimed beam of
protons directed at the tumor site. The beam is
configured to deliver the majority of its energy
precisely at the tumor location. Healthy tissue in
front of the tumor receives a minimal amount of
energy, and tissue behind the tumor receives very
little. This reduces the damage to healthy tissue
that is common in the use of conventional X-ray
radiation and is the cause of most side effects.
“Recent advances in imaging have made
proton therapy much more viable,” says John