NEWS

Apollo Proton Cancer Centre (APCC), the first and only proton therapy centre in South Asia and the Middle East and India's first JCI accredited Cancer hospital, shared detailed insights and facts about the most successful focused therapy for cancer – Proton Beam Therapy. True to the Apollo pillars of expertise and excellence, Proton Beam therapy with focused and trained cancer management teams provides optimal solutions to treat cancer.

Dr. Nagarjuna Burela, Consultant, Radiation Oncology at the Apollo Proton Cancer Centre spoke on Proton Beam Therapy at the conference. The expert highlighted how complicated cases were treated with the utmost precision, and with successful personal experiences shared by the patients from Ghana treated at Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, Mr. Michael Asamoh.

Proton therapy is a radiation therapy that uses tiny particles called protons as excellent cancer cell killers. Protons deliver their energy but do not damage healthy tissue in comparison to photon therapy. Therefore, a higher dose of radiation can be targeted at the tumor without affecting many normal healthy cells. Proton therapy can be effective in treating many types of tumors, including tumors of the brain, head and neck, central nervous system, lung, prostate, and gastrointestinal system. Proton therapy is often the preferred option for treating solid tumors in children because protons can be controlled precisely so there is less radiation to normal tissues, helping prevent serious complications and lessening the chance of secondary tumors.

Proton Therapy has multiple advantages that target tumours and cancer cells with precision and minimal exit dose thus reducing overall toxicity. It also reduces the probability and/or severity of short- and long-term side effects on surrounding healthy tissues and organs. It is favorable in treating recurrent tumours, even in patients who have already received radiation.

Dr. Nagarjuna Burela, Consultant, Radiation Oncology at the Apollo Proton Cancer Centre (APCC) in Chennai, said: “Proton Therapy has emerged as an excellent treatment modality for a number of cancers. Some of the most common cases being treated at APCC are pediatric cancers and tumors of CNS and head and neck including challenging cases like skull base. Patients undergoing Proton Therapy have significantly less discomfort during and after treatment; they are less likely to require hospital admission, tube feeding, or treatment interruption. In patients with tumors involving the skull base, Proton Therapy improves the safety of critical organs like the visual pathway and brain stem. At Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, we have the latest PBS technology which enables us to deliver highly focused treatments to each tumor, and each tumor is treated with protons, spot- by- spot and layer-by-layer. It has been proven to be successful in curing or controlling many cancers when used appropriately.”

Dr. Nagarjuna also mentioned that one of the important applications of Proton Therapy is in reducing cardiac side effects of radiation in left-sided breast cancer patients. Further, he maintained that Proton Therapy has emerged as an “excellent treatment modality for a number of cancers.”

Sharing his experience at Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, Mr. Michael Asamoh, said, “In April 2022, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor which caused partial blindness. In May, I travelled to Chennai, India, to get treated at Apollo Proton Cancer Centre. Dr Arvind Sukumaran, Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, and a team of medical staff gave me the best treatment at APCC. The treatment lasted for a week or so and I was discharged within two weeks. The staff at APCC gave us hope and, I believe, the staff at Apollo Proton Cancer Centre can do anything considering their indepth knowledge and extraordinary line of treatment supported by advanced technology.”

Michael underwent complete resection, and it was a benign lesion called subependymoma. After the treatment, his vision has improved.

APCC is the first Proton Therapy facility in this part of the world, serving patients from Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and South Asia. It has a fully integrated treatment suite that offers the most advanced treatment in surgical, radiation and medical procedures. Apollo brings together a powerful team of clinicians renowned globally in cancer care. With a strong approach in treating cancer, APCC has an experienced multi-disciplinary team of highly skilled clinicians focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for their patients with utmost care.

Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, the most advanced Cancer Centre, and the first Proton Therapy Centre in South Asia & the Middle East and is India's first JCI accredited Cancer hospital. At the bedrock of APCC's approach to treating cancer, is its robust multi-disciplinary platform; highly skilled professionals who come together to form a cancer management team (CMT). Each CMT is focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for their patients. An added feather in the cap is the recent launch of India's first & only site-specific Robotic Oncology Program.