Proton Beam Therapy Centres To Open In UK

The UK will get its first three proton beam therapy centres from next year in what experts say is a significant breakthrough for cancer treatment.

The first centre will be opened in Cardiff by local company Proton Partners International Ltd, with two others to follow in London and Northumberland by 2017.

The centres will be available for NHS patients from England, Scotland and Wales, as well as self-paying patients and those with private medical insurance.

Currently patients must head overseas for this type of treatment.

Life sciences entrepreneur Professor Sir Chris Evans says there are more than 150,000 people treated for cancer each year and that demand for treatment is growing.

Health insurer Bupa has estimated that by 2021 the UK's ageing population is likely to see a 20% rise in the number of new cancers and a 62% rise in the cost of treatment - to £15.3bn.

Proton beam therapy is a targeted type of radiotherapy that can treat hard-to-reach cancers, such as spinal tumours, with a lower risk of damaging the surrounding tissue or causing side effects.

The announcement comes just weeks after the parents of brain cancer survivor Ashya King told how the five-year-old made a "miracle" recovery after receiving proton beam therapy in Prague in the Czech Republic.

The treatment was not available for him on the NHS, although the health service later agreed to fund it.

Professor Gordon McVie, senior consultant at the European Institute of Oncology, who has been appointed chairman of Proton Partners International, says the development is "exciting and important".

He added: "As things stand, patients who can benefit from this treatment have to go abroad for treatment, often at great expense to the NHS.

"The creation of these centres will go a long way to ensuring the very best of treatment is available in the UK."