O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 21

TREATMENT MEETS TECH
Proton International at UAB brings new therapy to Alabama
By Bob Shepard
Proton therapy, a highly sophisticated radiation
technology for treating cancer, has come to
Alabama with the opening of Proton International
at UAB. The facility, whose construction began in the
winter of 2018, opened with a ribbon cutting and
reception on Jan. 13. The new center represents a
partnership between UAB and Proton International.
Proton International at UAB is one of only 36 proton
therapy centers in the country and the first in Alabama.
“With the establishment of this center, UAB Medicine
has again brought one of the latest, most advanced
medical technologies to our region,” said Will Ferniany,
Ph.D., CEO of the UAB Health System. “Proton therapy
will be a valuable tool that our physicians and scientists
in the Department of Radiation Oncology, the School
of Medicine and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer
Center can employ to the betterment of thousands of
cancer patients in Alabama and the surrounding area.”
Proton therapy uses an aimed beam of protons that are
directed at the tumor site. The beam is configured to
deliver the majority of its energy precisely at the tumor
location. Healthy tissue in front of the tumor receives a
minimal amount of energy, and tissue behind the tumor
receives very little. This reduces the damage to healthy
tissue that is common in the use of conventional X-ray
radiation and is the cause of most of its side effects.
“Opening the center was an important milestone for
the residents of Alabama who now have access to
proton therapy closer to home,” said Chris Chandler,
CEO of Proton International. “Our mission is to work in
partnership with leading clinical entities such as UAB, so
patients and families do not have to travel long distances
and suffer further cost and stress at such a critical time.”
Proton International at UAB is on 20th Street South
between Fourth Avenue and Fifth Avenue. The facility
consists of a three-story building to house clinical exam
rooms, offices and the ProBeam Proton Therapy System,
which was manufactured in Germany by Varian Medical
Systems, a longtime partner of UAB in the delivery of
radiation therapy. The medical staff, including radiation
oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation
therapy technologists and nurses, will come exclusively
from UAB.
The new facility houses a machine called a cyclotron,
which produces the proton beam and delivers it to
the precise location in the body to destroy tumor
cells. Proton International at UAB’s $25 million, 90-ton
cyclotron was brought by ship to Brunswick, Georgia,
and then transported to UAB in March 2019 by a
specialized truck with 20 axles, 78 wheels and drivers
in front and back. A heavy-lift crane was assembled on
Fourth Avenue South to lift and deposit Emma into the
facility through the roof.
UAB will also be involved in clinical research studies on
the use of proton therapy to discover the full utility of
the therapy and produce best-practice parameters on
its use.
Watch UAB install its newest cancer-killing
cyclotron, Emma, at the state’s first proton
therapy center, Proton International at UAB:
go.uab.edu/emma
Proton therapy is used to treat tumors of the brain,
central nervous system, spine, head, neck, lung,
prostate, liver, gastrointestinal tract and colon, as well as
some breast tumors. While it treats primarily single-site
tumors, in some cases, it can be used for treating cancer
that has spread, or metastasized, to surrounding tissue
because of its focused dose capabilities.
“Proton therapy allows us to treat deep-seated
cancers,” said James A. Bonner, M.D., chair of the
UAB Department of Radiation Oncology. “It can be
particularly efficacious in the treatment of children,
who can be highly sensitive to the effects of radiation
therapy. We are excited to offer this cutting-edge
approach for patients and families in Birmingham,
across Alabama and beyond.”
The $25 million, 90-ton cyclotron, nicknamed Emma, at Proton
International at UAB is able to target a precise location in the body to
destroy tumor cells.
UAB.EDU/CANCER
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