China's heavy ion therapy brings new hope to cancer patients

China's heavy ion therapy brings new hope to cancer patients

——The clinical report on heavy ion therapy for tumors in Wuwei attracted significant attention at the 2023 Academic Annual Meeting of the Shaanxi Provincial Radiation Oncology Physicians Branch.

On May 20, the 2023 Academic Annual Meeting of the Shaanxi Provincial Physicians Association Radiation Oncology Branch was successfully held in Xi'an. Over 200 experts, physicians, medical physicists, technicians, and nursing staff specializing in tumor radiotherapy from more than 30 medical institutions across Shaanxi, Beijing, Shandong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Chongqing, Tianjin, Gansu, and other regions attended the conference.

Director Li Xiaojun from the Department of Radiotherapy V (specializing in heavy ion and photon radiotherapy for neurological, head and neck, and lymphatic system diseases) at Gansu Wuwei Academy of Medical and Science Cancer Hospital shared a report on the treatment of refractory head and neck tumors with domestically produced heavy ion therapy, which drew widespread attention from the conference participants.

The conference participants engaged in extensive and in-depth discussions on various topics, including the advantages of heavy ion therapy over proton therapy, the indication criteria for disease treatment at the Heavy Ion Center of Gansu Wuwei Academy of Medical and Science Cancer Hospital, the clinical efficacy of heavy ion therapy for the diseases of concern, and the dose constraints for normal tissues during heavy ion treatment.

 The Heavy Ion Center of Gansu Wuwei Academy of Medical and Science Cancer Hospital is the first clinical application center of China's domestically developed heavy ion therapy system. Since its official launch in March 2020, it has been successfully operating for three years. To date, it has treated over 730 patients, achieving excellent therapeutic outcomes for complex lesions in the skull, pancreas, lungs, and other body regions. The treated patients come from Europe as well as various parts of China.

The center has established itself as a precision radiotherapy demonstration base for cross-strait (China Mainland-Taiwan) cooperation. It has engaged renowned experts—including Professor Yee-min Jen, former Chairman of the Taiwan Society for Radiation Oncology, and Dr. Jia-Ming Wu, Chief Medical Physicist at Taiwan Chang Gung Memorial Hospital—to work on-site through long-term appointments, conducting in-depth training programs focused on heavy ion therapy. Through comprehensive education and training in radiation physics, radiobiology, and clinical radiation oncology, the entire medical team has developed into a professional cluster specializing in the international clinical application of heavy ion therapy systems.

The center is equipped with China's first domestically developed heavy ion therapy system, along with advanced domestic medical imaging and diagnostic equipment including PET-CT, 3.0T localization MRI, 64-slice localization CT, and three image-guided medical linear accelerators. This comprehensive suite of technologies has established the center as a systematic oncology treatment hub.

The Discovery 710 Super Iteration PET-CT has been put into clinical use at the hospital

​​VitalBeam Linear Accelerator​

​​Infinity Four-Dimensional Image-Guided Medical Linear Accelerator​

​​3.0T Supersonic High-End MRI for Radiation Therapy Positioning​

​​The Heavy Ion Center of Gansu Wuwei Academy of Medical and Science Cancer Hospital, building upon its three-year successful operation, has established China's first tumor rehabilitation town. This comprehensive health management system covers the entire lifecycle and features: integrated tumor treatment, dietary therapy, psychosomatic health management, traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation, rehabilitation physiotherapy, bio-immune cell therapy, pastoral therapy, and cultural therapy.​​

​​Moving forward, the center will leverage its national presence to enhance talent and technology exchanges, promoting this innovative, whole-person, whole-lifecycle tumor treatment model across China to benefit more cancer patients.​

Wuwei Heavy Ion International Medical City Donghu

Wuwei Heavy Ion International Medical City Nanhu

Wuwei Heavy Ion International Medical City Outpatient Hall

Wuwei Heavy Ion International Medical City the lobby of the Inpatient department

Wuwei Heavy Ion International Medical City Ward environment