They have traveled extensively by land and by sea and now they are arriving at the European Institute of Oncology (Ieo) in Milan: first a 55-ton cyclotron and then a 70-ton gantry, components of ‘Proteus One’, the “most internationally advanced for proton therapy. For the first time in Italy – announce IRCCS founded by Umberto Veronesi – a compact proton therapy system is installed inside a structure built specifically to house it. first case of a building designed and made to measure for proton therapy equipment, the most innovative form of high precision radiotherapy “.
“The Ieo Proton Center will have a latest generation proton therapy system (compact single room), not yet present in Italy – says Roberto Orecchia, Ieo scientific director and one of the leading experts in radiotherapy – It will also be the first proton therapy center in Italy within a scientific hospitalization and treatment institute (Irccs). It is an important record first of all for our patients “, because” Ieo Proton Center will expand the offer of Ieo treatments and close collaboration among all the departments it will guarantee to the approximately 700 new patients that every year they will be able to access them the best therapeutic treatment available for their pathology “.
“We chose 6 years ago to invest in proton therapy because it represents one of the major innovations in cancer treatment of the last 10 years – declares Mauro Melis, CEO Ieo – The pandemic has created enormous organizational problems, but it has never stopped us. We have succeeded. on schedule to build the first custom-designed building to house the compact single room proton system, adjacent to the current radiotherapy, without ever interfering with clinical activity. The equipment will now be installed and tested with very accurate processes, but will allow us between just over a year, in autumn 2023, to offer our patients proton therapy treatments at the highest existing standards “.
“The clinical advantages of treatment with protons are numerous – emphasizes Orecchia – first of all the reduction of the risk of secondary tumors induced by rays. It is also an important record for scientific research and therefore potentially for all cancer patients. Proton therapy is in continuous evolution – highlights the specialist – also in combination with other disciplines such as surgery, chemotherapy, molecular drugs or other radiotherapy methods. Radioimmunotherapy, for example, is a promising application that combines the action of radiotherapy and immunotherapy, to transform the tumor in a vaccine against itself, activating the patient’s immune system. It has been found that proton therapy can obtain a response from the immune system that is far superior to traditional radiotherapy. The scientific hypotheses for the use of proton therapy are expanding enormously and are beyond 150 the validation and in-depth studies i n course in the world. Meanwhile, proton therapy centers are multiplying in all countries with a high rate of development “.
“With the new Ieo center we will contribute to this international scientific movement – assures the scientific director – as well as responding to a need for care in the country recognized by the Ministry of Health, which in 2015 included proton therapy among life-saving treatments”. In fact, currently in Italy it is estimated that there are around 7,000 patients eligible for proton therapy, a demand that only the three operating centers in our country cannot already meet today, the Ieo specifies. And if the ongoing scientific studies confirm the expectations, in Italy the demand for proton therapy could concern 16% of all cancer patients, the experts say.
The Higher Institute of Health, in its 2021 recommendations for the use of protons – recalls a note from the Milanese IRCCS – indicates that the greatest advantages are obtained in the treatment of solid tumors in pediatric patients, tumors located in critical locations because they are surrounded from sensitive structures, tumors that are not very responsive to conventional radiotherapy and for which a dose-escalation approach is useful, as well as in cases where it is necessary to reduce the overall toxicity due to the treatment of large volumes in combination with concomitant chemotherapy.