Heavy Ion Therapy for Liver Cancer Costs Only 49,500 RMB — Report on Heavy Ion Therapy for Liver Can

Heavy Ion Therapy for Liver Cancer Costs Only 49,500 RMB

— Report on Heavy Ion Therapy for Liver Cancer

Since China's first heavy ion system entered clinical use in Wuwei, Gansu, a growing body of data has demonstrated the high efficacy, low toxicity, and curative potential of heavy ion therapy for liver cancer. In the past, heavy ion therapy cost hundreds of thousands of RMB, but with the maturation of China's Wuwei heavy ion treatment technology and the standardization of national medical insurance policies, this situation is being thoroughly rewritten.

Today, at the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center in Gansu, some patients with early-stage liver cancer need only pay 49,500 RMB (single treatment) to access this top-tier technology, hailed as "the jewel in the crown of radiotherapy." It offers confirmed efficacy, non-invasiveness, extremely mild side effects, and definitive curative potential — and has given renewed hope to many patients who were previously unable to undergo surgery due to poor cardiopulmonary function.

1. Heavy Ion Pricing: From "High-End Option" to "Affordable Price"

The construction investment of the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center reached over 3 billion RMB. In 2020, when the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center first began clinical application, the Gansu Provincial Government, after investigation, implemented market-adjusted pricing, with a course of treatment costing approximately 200,000 to 260,000 RMB. However, as Wuwei's heavy ion equipment was successfully replicated across the country, the National Healthcare Security Administration intensively issued guidelines for radiotherapy pricing projects between 2024 and 2025, granting more reasonable pricing standards for heavy ion radiotherapy, and provinces and municipalities successively introduced standardized guidance prices. Taking Gansu Province's 2025 Notice on Standardizing Radiotherapy Medical Service Price Items (Gan Yi Bao Han [2025] No. 287) as an example, the charging model was clearly standardized: first treatment: 49,500 RMB per session; subsequent treatments: 16,500 RMB per session; course cap: no more than 198,000 RMB per course. Multi-site discount: if a second or additional site is treated, only one first-treatment fee is charged, with no additional charges thereafter.

At the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center, to minimize patient costs and benefit more patients, the medical team has carried out "single-session heavy ion therapy" for suitable liver cancer patients. This means that eligible liver cancer patients need only pay 49,500 RMB to complete curative treatment. Compared with the past, the cost has been dramatically reduced, truly achieving the "inclusive accessibility" of cutting-edge technology.

2. Completing Heavy Ion Therapy for Liver Cancer at 49,500 RMB: Single Irradiation, Complete Tumor Destruction

With costs reduced, how effective is the treatment? The following real clinical cases provide the best answer:

Case 1 (High surgical risk, patient unable to accept): Mr. Cheng, 66 years old, from Shanghai. In September 2018, the patient was admitted to the Third Military Medical University in Shanghai with an alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level of 978.1 ng/mL and was diagnosed with primary liver cancer. Because the tumor was located near the first hepatic hilum, requiring extensive resection and high surgical difficulty, the patient could not accept surgery and came to the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center seeking heavy ion therapy. Single-session treatment was used to complete the liver cancer treatment. Now, 6 years after treatment, the patient has achieved complete cure.

The above image shows the pre-treatment MRI; the tumor was located deep, surgery was complex, and the patient could not accept the surgical risk, seeking heavy ion therapy instead.

Case 2 (Primary liver cancer): Mr. Wang, male, 50 years old, from Chongqing. In July 2024, the patient was found to have elevated alpha-fetoprotein (29.20 ng/mL) during a health check at West China Hospital. Abdominal MRI showed: cirrhosis, portal hypertension, collateral circulation (gastric fundal varices), splenomegaly; liver S3 lesion (1.2 cm), nature undetermined (LI-RADS 3). Surgery was recommended. On August 14, 2024, the patient further visited Southwest Hospital and was diagnosed with liver cancer. Surgery was recommended, but the patient and family refused and were referred to the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center. The patient had a single nodule with a small lesion, and single-session heavy ion therapy was completed at the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center.

Case 3: Mr. Su, male, 50 years old. On August 15, 2020, a health check revealed a nodule in the lower segment of the left hepatic lobe, approximately 0.7 cm in diameter, considered a hyperplastic nodule. On April 9, 2022, follow-up showed the nodule was approximately 1.2 × 0.9 cm. On October 29, 2022, follow-up showed the nodule was approximately 2.5 × 2.0 cm. On June 13, 2023, follow-up showed a nodule of approximately 4.7 × 4.5 cm in the left hepatic lobe. On June 22, 2023, the patient visited Beijing 302 Hospital; contrast-enhanced MR considered primary liver cancer, and surgery was planned. The patient and family refused surgery. For further diagnosis and treatment, the patient visited our hospital. Our hospital's biopsy pathology showed: (liver biopsy tissue) hepatocellular carcinoma. On July 31, 2023, the patient received one session of carbon ion therapy under general anesthesia with HFOV. The patient experienced no particular discomfort during or after radiotherapy, and the tumor continued to shrink with good control after heavy ion therapy. The patient continued antiviral therapy for hepatitis B.

3. Which Liver Cancers Can Be Treated with Heavy Ion Therapy at 49,500 RMB? Indications

It should be specially noted that completing single-session heavy ion therapy at 49,500 RMB is not applicable to all liver cancer patients. Whether single-session treatment can be used requires comprehensive evaluation based on tumor size, number, location, respiratory motion control, and dose constraints of adjacent organs. Generally speaking, early-stage liver cancer and liver metastases that are located in the peripheral liver, relatively far from adjacent hollow organs such as the gastrointestinal tract, far from the hepatic hilum, with relatively clear lesion boundaries and controllable respiratory motion are more suitable for single-session treatment. For patients with larger, multiple tumors, tumors close to the hepatic hilum or gastrointestinal tract, invasion of major vessels, poor liver function, or difficult respiratory motion control, fractionated radiotherapy or comprehensive treatment is still required. If multiple treatments are needed, the maximum cost per course does not exceed 198,000 RMB.

4. Why Are Heavy Ions So Remarkable? Decoding the "Bragg Peak"

The reason heavy ions can achieve such remarkable efficacy at extremely low cost and with very few sessions (even a single session) lies in their unique physical and biological advantages:

The "precise blasting" Bragg peak: Conventional X-rays (photons) release energy along their entire path through the body, resulting in "killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of one's own." Heavy ions, by contrast, release very little energy upon entering the body, then instantly release enormous energy upon reaching the tumor target (the Bragg peak), followed by rapid attenuation. This enables "targeted blasting" of the tumor while perfectly protecting surrounding heart, major blood vessels, and healthy lung tissue. For patients with poor cardiopulmonary function, this is literally tailor-made.

Stronger "killing power": The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of heavy ions is far higher than that of conventional radiotherapy. They can more effectively break both DNA strands of tumor cells, making it extremely difficult for cancer cells to repair, thereby reducing recurrence rates.

The "subtraction" from 20 sessions to 1: Early heavy ion treatment for liver cancer required 20 fractions. With accumulated experience, the number of heavy ion sessions for liver cancer can be reduced. Through precise respiratory control, the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center performs single-session treatment for suitable liver tumors — not only safe but also dramatically shortening the treatment cycle and saving treatment costs.

Summary

The development of China's heavy ion therapy has not only achieved a technological "leapfrog" but has also pioneered a path from "sky-high pricing" to "affordable pricing" in its charging model. For 49,500 RMB, a single irradiation session lasting less than half an hour, with no pain, allowing patients to walk away immediately after treatment, with the tumor gradually disappearing after inactivation — this is not only a victory for medical science and technology but also good news for countless liver cancer patients, especially elderly patients with underlying cardiopulmonary conditions. As heavy ion therapy becomes more widely available across the country, it is believed that more patients will benefit from the hope brought by this high technology.

Introduction to the Division 1, Radiation Oncology Center,  Wuwei Heavy Ion Center

The Division 1, Radiation Oncology Center at the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center is a national key construction specialty. Founded and led by Dr. Zhang Yanshan, it is China's earliest clinical center dedicated to heavy ion clinical application. It is currently the department in China that completes the largest number of heavy ion treatment cases for tumors at all body sites each year, with the most complex range of diseases and the largest case volume. The department has pioneered heavy ion treatment for various solid tumors both domestically and internationally, and has summarized a complete set of "Wuwei protocols" for heavy ion treatment of solid cancers.

Department members are proficient in English and routinely strengthen English-language ward round communication. The latest National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines serve as the guiding principles for our comprehensive tumor treatment, forming a department that uses heavy ions as a powerful tool and comprehensively integrates targeted therapy, immunotherapy, cellular immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and other comprehensive tumor treatments. Core members including Professor Zhang Yanshan, Director Zhang Yihe, Chief Physician, and Deputy Director Pan Xin have been engaged in the earliest domestic clinical practice of domestically produced heavy ions since 2018. Under the influence of the department motto "Learned, Refined, Humble, Sincere" and the department culture of "cultivation rooted in the heart, self-discipline that requires no reminder, freedom premised on restraint, and kindness that considers others," the department has earned praise from a wide range of patients and their families through rigorous professional spirit and compassionate medical services.

Department Leader Zhang Yanshan, PhD, is a Visiting Researcher and Graduate Supervisor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor and Master's Supervisor at Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, and Professor and Master's Supervisor at Northwest Normal University. He is a Leading Talent of Gansu Province, an Outstanding Expert of Gansu Province, a First-Tier Leading Talent of Wuwei City, and the lead for the creation of a national key discipline. The team he leads has received honors including Outstanding Team from the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the Provincial Health Commission, and the Provincial Trade Union. As first/corresponding author, he has published 25 SCI papers and 20 papers in domestic core journals, and is proficient in English listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation.

Comrade Zhang Yanshan served as Director of Surgical Oncology from 2004 to 2014 and has been engaged in heavy ion therapy since 2011. He served as Director of China's first domestically produced heavy ion therapy center and has cultivated a group of professional talents in heavy ion therapy for China. Joerg Hauffe, CEO of the German RPTC Proton Center, called him "Mr. Carbon."

Director Zhang Yanshan is the heavy ion expert in China who personally treats the largest number of heavy ion patients each year and handles the most complex cases. He has accumulated rich experience in heavy ion therapy for solid tumors at all body sites, including primary and metastatic brain tumors, bone metastases, liver cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, chordoma, and sarcoma. He has extensive experience in re-irradiation for recurrent esophageal cancer and lung cancer after radiotherapy, and has summarized a set of Wuwei protocols in the field of heavy ion therapy, benefiting numerous patients with complex and critical tumors. Comrade Zhang Yanshan is fully responsible for the clinical application of China's first heavy ion therapy system with independent intellectual property rights, overseeing indication determination, target volume delineation, fractionation scheme design, dose and risk control, efficacy evaluation, and management of adverse events and toxic reactions — driving the development of China's heavy ion cause. Each year, he personally delineates target volumes and fully treats more than 500 patients receiving heavy ion therapy, insisting on being present on the frontline and personally involved in diagnosis and treatment. Professor Zhang Yanshan pioneered the "galloping scheme" for bladder cancer treatment internationally, pioneered the use of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) to control respiratory motion, pioneered the surgical "spacer technique," and proposed the concept of "heavy ion surgery." Using the original HFOV technique, he has successfully treated multiple liver and bilateral pulmonary metastases. He has promoted the application of heavy ion therapy to liver tumors at all stages. He has refined heavy ion treatment strategies for esophageal cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, and other diseases, and accumulated experience in treating gliomas and various sarcomas. He has innovatively applied bladder capacity and pressure control devices and breast immobilization devices to strictly control organ motion, increasing the local heavy ion treatment dose to tumors while better protecting normal organs — thereby improving efficacy, reducing adverse reactions, and achieving precise heavy ion radiotherapy. Professor Zhang Yanshan has a background encompassing basic tumor research, pharmacotherapy, surgical oncology, and radiotherapy. He possesses proficient imaging interpretation skills and excellent English listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation abilities, enabling him to stay abreast of first-line international oncology advances. He is a leader in composite tumor treatment, capable of radiotherapy and tumor treatment quality control, process optimization, team building, AI tool application, and medical safety management. He excels in clinical decision-making for complex and advanced tumors, emphasizing multidisciplinary integration, whole-course management, and humanistic communication.

Introduction to the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center

The Wuwei Heavy Ion Center is the clinical application base for China's first heavy (carbon) ion therapy system with complete independent intellectual property rights. It is technically supported by the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and clinically operated by Gansu Wuwei Cancer Hospital. Since the first patient was treated in November 2018, as of October 15, 2026, the center has treated more than 3,300 patients, covering more than 100 tumor types, including lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, glioblastoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, rectal cancer, and various sarcomas. Heavy (carbon) ions have a strong tumor cell-killing effect; the relative biological effectiveness of heavy (carbon) ions can reach 2 to 5 times that of conventional radiotherapy and proton therapy, with minimal impact on surrounding normal tissues [1-2].

As the only medical institution in the world operating two heavy (carbon) ion therapy systems simultaneously, Wuwei Cancer Hospital continues to advance technological innovation and has achieved nine "world-first" accomplishments, including precision treatment under ventilator control, bladder cancer treatment under precise bladder capacity control, single-session treatment with surgical implantation of spacers between organs and tumors, and dual Bragg peak heavy (carbon) ion lattice radiotherapy. It has also developed China's first 360° rotatable and height-adjustable ion radiotherapy chair and completed the world's first batch of multiple cases of cardiac tumor heavy (carbon) ion treatment.

Leveraging 30 research platforms including the CAS Key Laboratory of Heavy (Carbon) Ion Beam Radiation Biology and the Sydney University Biomedical Data Analysis and Visualization Laboratory, the center has conducted more than 30 clinical studies on key tumor types and published nine monographs including the Standard Operating Procedure for Carbon Ion Radiotherapy, gradually building a knowledge system covering physical technology, clinical diagnosis and treatment, and health management. On February 23, 2026, CCTV-13's Morning News broadcast a special report on the operation of China's first medical heavy ion accelerator with independent intellectual property rights; Yang Jiancheng, Deputy Director of the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, provided an introduction in the program.

References

[1] Abousaida B, Seneviratne D, Hoppe BS, Ko SJ, Asaithamby A, Cucinotta FA, et al. Carbon ion radiotherapy in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma. J Hepatocell Carcinoma. 2021;8:1169-1182. (Table 1, reproduced with permission from Kavanagh BD. Introduction to clinical radiation oncology. Radiology. 1998;209(1):168.

[2] Apisarnthanarax S, Bowen SR, Combs SE. Proton beam therapy and carbon ion radiotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2018;28(4):309-320.

Case provided by: Zhang Yihe (Director, First Department of the Radiotherapy Center)

Data support: Tumor Registry and Follow-up Office (Chen Xuelian, Li Pengqing)

Reviewed by: Zhang Yanshan (Chief Physician)