Toward the long cherished goal of mankind to eradicate cancer

Hyogo Ion Beam Medical Center was funded in 2001, aiming the long cherished goal of mankind to eradicate cancer. There are two kinds of realized particle therapy, which are proton therapy and carbon ion therapy. Both kinds of therapies are available in our hospital, and hence it is possible to select optimum ion depending on cancer.

Proton therapy was started in 2001, carbon ion therapy was started in 2002. A decade after approved as being forefront therapy in 2003, we treated 4513 patients till February 2012.

Our hospital was funded as the first facility which is capable of using both kinds of ions in the world. Therefore, it will be no exaggeration to say that our hospital is one of the best particle therapy facilities in the world.

Let me explain briefly about particle therapy. What makes the most prominent difference of particle therapy from conventional radiation therapy (photon therapy) is its dose distribution in a patient. In conventional radiation therapy, the maximum of absorbed doses appears near surface of patient, and the dose decreases as depth increases. On the other hand, in particle therapy, it is possible to deposit the highest absorbed dose immediately before particles come to rest. It enables to give higher dose to cancer, resulting better tumor control　with less damage to normal tissues.

It was also proved that, the mechanism of killing tumor cells in particle therapy is different from photon therapy and thus more effective. Therefore, it is regarded as ultimate radiation therapy.

The particle therapy is considered to be valid to cancer in skull/neck, early stage lung cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, pediatric cancer and soft tissue tumor (sarcoma). We think it is possible to widen the range of treatable cancer with particle therapy by inventing new methods, and/or with chemo particle therapy to cancers in more advanced stage. Moreover, we are considering treatments within only a couple of days for early stage lung cancer and small liver cancer.
　
By taking advantage of our abundant experience of past treatments and by inventing novel methods for the cancer treatment, we would like to provide more comfortable environment to patients, as well as better treatment results.

Our mission is to contribute to better life of patients with particle therapy. We would like to advance to the long cherished goal of mankind, eradication of cancer, step by step, with patients.