01
No exit dose — spare healthy tissue
Conventional photon (X-ray) radiotherapy deposits dose both entering AND leaving the body. Protons stop at the tumor, cutting integral dose to surrounding organs by 50–70%.
Proton Therapy · Radiation That Stops at the Tumor
Proton beam therapy is the most precise external radiotherapy available. Because protons deposit their energy at a defined depth — the Bragg peak — and then stop, the tumor receives a curative dose while surrounding healthy organs receive dramatically less radiation than with conventional X-ray treatment.
The Science · How Proton Therapy Works
The unique physics of the proton — a heavy, positively charged particle — makes it the most tissue-sparing form of radiotherapy in clinical use.
01
Proton Acceleration
Hydrogen atoms are stripped to protons and accelerated to ~60% the speed of light in a cyclotron or synchrotron.
02
Pencil-Beam Scanning
A magnetic steering system paints the tumor slice by slice with millimetre-precision proton spots — the modern IMPT technique.
03
The Bragg Peak
Unlike X-rays, protons deposit almost all of their energy at a controllable depth (the Bragg peak) and then stop — no exit dose beyond the tumor.
04
Image-Guided Delivery
Daily CT / CBCT verification and, at newer centres, real-time MRI or PET adaptive planning ensure the beam matches the tumor day by day.
05
Fractionated Course
Treatment is typically 15–35 painless outpatient sessions of 15–30 minutes each — no incision, no anaesthesia for most adults.
Proton vs. Conventional (Photon) Radiotherapy
02
Lower risk of secondary cancers
Especially important for children and young adults, where reduced dose to healthy tissue translates into significantly lower long-term risk of radiation-induced malignancies.
03
Fewer acute and late side effects
Reduced dose to heart, lung, bowel, salivary glands, brain and spinal cord means less fatigue, less mucositis, better cognitive preservation and better organ function.
04
Enables curative re-irradiation
For recurrent tumors in patients who have already received the maximum photon dose, protons can safely re-treat targets that would otherwise be inoperable.
05
Dose escalation on radioresistant tumors
Higher biological doses can be delivered to sarcomas, chordomas, hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic cancer while staying under normal-tissue tolerance.
Why China · Fast, Advanced & Cost-Effective
Over the past decade China has built one of the world's largest and most modern proton therapy networks — with shorter wait times and significantly lower cost than Western centres.
- China now operates a growing network of proton therapy centres, including flagship facilities in Shanghai, Wuwei, Hefei, Guangzhou, Zibo, Beijing and Hong Kong — the fastest proton-therapy expansion in the world.
- Latest-generation systems (Varian ProBeam, IBA Proteus, Hitachi and domestically developed platforms) offer full pencil-beam scanning and intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT).
- Waiting times for international patients are typically weeks — a fraction of the months-long queues seen at many overseas centres.
- Treatment cost is generally 40–60% lower than comparable proton therapy in the US or Western Europe, without compromise in equipment or planning quality.
- Multidisciplinary Chinese teams routinely combine proton therapy with immunotherapy, targeted drugs and surgery under a single MDT plan.
What Proton Therapy Can Treat
Every referral is reviewed by a proton MDT — treatment is recommended only where the physics offer a clinical advantage over conventional radiotherapy.
Highest-Priority Indications
- Paediatric solid tumors (medulloblastoma, ependymoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma)
- Base-of-skull tumors: chordoma, chondrosarcoma
- Brain & spinal cord tumors close to critical structures
- Ocular melanoma
- Head & neck cancers (nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, sinus)
Strongly Supported Indications
- Hepatocellular carcinoma & intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
- Localised prostate cancer
- Non-small cell lung cancer (early stage & locally advanced)
- Oesophageal cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Breast cancer (left-sided, to spare heart)
Specialised Situations
- Re-irradiation of recurrent tumors
- Sarcomas of the spine, pelvis and retroperitoneum
- Selected lymphomas (mediastinal Hodgkin's) to spare heart & lungs
- Benign but critically located tumors (meningioma, acoustic neuroma)
Free Case Feasibility Assessment
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