New hope in cancer through particle therapy

Innovative technology will be used in autumn 2015 in Marburg

24/10/2014

For patients who have cancer, from next year on there will be an innovative treatment method in Marburg. As the Rhön Klinikum AG is currently reporting, it is planned that the first tumor patients will be treated with the so-called „particle therapy“ could be treated. According to the experts, the new therapy is particularly suitable for cancers of the lungs, prostate or pelvis - but the success of the expensive and very complex procedure actually does not yet have been proven.

New procedure protects healthy tissue
New hope in the fight against cancer? In Marburg, the newly established Particle Therapy Center is to be opened in the fall of 2015, in which future cancer patients will be treated with the so-called "Particle Therapy Center" „particle therapy“ should be treated. It is a new method of radiotherapy, in which irradiated with pinpoint accuracy and thus the surrounding healthy tissue can be spared. From the point of view of physicians, the new method could be suitable for a variety of cancers, but actual success has yet to be proven: „Among other things, we will focus on treating patients with non-small cell lung tumors [...] as well as certain tumors in the brain and head and neck region“, so Prof. dr. Rita Engenhart-Cabillic from the Center for Radiology of the Philipps-University Marburg.

Agreement by founding an operating company
There had been years of disputes about the plant in advance, as Rhön Klinikum AG, which operates the University Hospital Gießen-Marburg, had not commissioned it as planned. After years of standstill, an agreement was reached only in September of this year: Rhön founded the Heidelberg University Hospital, an operating company that already had experience with the novel radiotherapy and henceforth claims to hold the majority share of 75.1 percent. As a result, preparations for the Marburg particle therapy facility were resumed after a long break. A much-needed step, because like those responsible to the news agency „dpa“ report that it is still planned to treat the first tumor patients with the machine in autumn next year. In order to be able to implement this project, technical personnel are currently being sought, because in the future, around 80 technicians, physicists and radiation physicians are planned for the work with the innovative system, according to Thomas Haberer, scientific and technical director at the Marburg Ion Beam Therapy Center opposite the „dpa“. Beside that, according to Haberer, there would also be further maintenance and training, so that the new technology could actually be used at the four planned therapy places.

Those responsible plan up to 750 treatments annually
Up to 750 treatments of cancer patients a year are planned in the particle therapy center in the future, the responsible persons continue. A project which also considers Professor Jürgen Dunst, board member at the German Society for Radiation Oncology, realistic: „The cooperation with Heidelberg is therefore also advantageous for the University Hospital Marburg because of the scientific synergy effects.“ According to the Commercial Director of Heidelberg University Hospital, Irmtraut Gürkan, it is also envisaged that the new plant in Marburg will cover costs, just like the machine already running in Heidelberg. „We are pleased that the innovative technology [...] is now being used at two locations in Germany“, emphasizes Prof. Dr. med. Guido Adler, Chief Executive Officer and Senior Medical Director of Heidelberg University Hospital. This will make it possible in the future, „To develop the technology so that a higher number of patients can be treated and the treatment spectrum can be extended“, Prof. Adler continues.

Politicians welcome the planned opening
Political support was also received for the new therapy center in Marburg, with both government and opposition parties expressing themselves positively. Especially with regard to the long-standing disputes, the current insight into the plans of those responsible is an important step: „Transparency is a good basis for the success of the particle therapy center project. Therefore, it is only to be welcomed that now all participants - operators and partners - have presented details for the further procedure up to the planned commissioning“, so Dr. Ralf-Norbert Bartelt, university medical spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group in the Hessian state parliament, opposite the „dpa“.

Offer the promising cancer therapy procedure „finally close enough to touch“
Also for Daniel May of the Greens and Nicola Beer of the FDP the planned commissioning in the coming autumn is of central importance in order to be able to offer affected people a new therapeutic option. „With the now announced steps and the firm promise that it will be operational in the fall of 2015, this goal of finally being able to offer the promising cancer treatment method to patients is now within reach“, so Nicola Beer.