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South Asia’s first proton therapy centre built by Apollo Hospitals will be inaugurated by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu here on Friday.
Built at a cost of ₹1,300 crore, Apollo Proton Cancer Centre (APCC) located in Taramani will offer world-class proton therapy to cancer patients using pencil-beam scanning technology with the highest degree of precision.
“As an Indian and global citizen, I feel very proud and happy to have established one of the finest centres for protons anywhere in the world,” said Prathap C Reddy, Executive Chairman, Apollo Hospitals group.
Facilities
The 150-bed cancer care centre has three proton therapy rooms, advanced radiation oncology centre, medical oncology and immunotherapy facility and high-end day care chemo wards.
“Proton as a instrument will be particularly beneficial for children and brain tumour patients since it does no harm and has everything positive to eradicate the disease,” Reddy added.
The facility will also have five modular digital MRI integrated operation theatres, besides a high-end diagnostic imaging centre for genomic profiling of cancers including DNA sequencing and digital pathology services.
Effective therapy
Proton therapy is effective against many kinds of cancers, particularly effective on tumours affecting eye and brain, spinal cord or other vital organs, head and neck cancers, deep seated abdominal and pelvic cancers, recurrent cancers and paediatric cancers.
Under this method, proton beams are regulated and channelled through a vacuum passageway to the precise site of tumour, thereby resulting in minimal damage to the surrounding healthy tissues and reduced side effects.
“We call it ultra precise dose painting to the most complex tumour shape,” said Rakesh Jalali, Medical Director, Apollo Proton Cancer Centre.
Jalali also said that according current projection, 5-10 per cent of patients diagnosed with cancer will qualify for proton therapy, which is likely to go up to 25 per cent in the next 5-10 years.
Hospital priorities
Listing the priority areas for the hospital, Reddy said Apollo is raising an army to fight noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) which will be the next big tsunami in health care.
“We are also working on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and have shortlisted a company named HXD, which will have significant impact on diagnosis and to run hospitals more professionally,” Reddy added.
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