Hospitals team up against cancer

A new form of radiation treatment for cancer could be headed to Connecticut, through a new partnership between two of the state’s biggest health care providers.

On Wednesday, Hartford HealthCare and the New Haven Health System announced they would come together to open a facility that would provide proton beam therapy treatment for cancer. The partnership is in its early stages, as the two companies need approval from the state Office of Health Strategy to move forward with the project, which would include the construction of a 25,000squarefoot proton therapy

Proton beam therapy uses protons — subatomic particles that carry a positive electrical charge — instead of Xrays.

center at 932 Northrop Road in Wallingford.

Proton beam therapy uses protons — subatomic particles that carry a positive electrical charge — instead of Xrays to treat cancer. The two health systems stated in a release

that the treatment is only available at a handful of locations in the Northeast, and none of them are in Connecticut.

“Yale New Haven Health is proud and excited to bring this highly innovative technology to patients in Connecticut,” said Richard D’Aquila, president of Yale New Haven Health and Yale New Haven Hospital in the release. “Our unique collaboration with HHC will allow us to care for patients with cancer in a new and effective way by bringing a lifechanging therapy to our state.”

Proton therapy has gotten attention as a possible alternative to traditional radiation. Some research has shown that it can deliver higher doses of radiation

with fewer side effects than Xray radiation, including a study released in spring by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Peter Glazer, radiation oncologist with the Yale School of Medicine, agreed that proton therapy can be a better way to treat certain tumors, including those of the brain and central nervous system, eye, gastrointestinal tract, head and neck.

“It can be more tailored and more precise, with less damage to the surrounding tissue,” he said.

Glazer said proton therapy is particularly good for treating tumors in children, as they are more vulnerable to damage to healthy tissue from radiation.

“We frequently will refer children who could benefit

(from proton therapy) to places out of state, usually Boston or New Jersey,” he said.

Adding a proton therapy facility in the state would eliminate that need, Glazer said.

As proposed, the Wallingford center would include the latest technology and equipment; treatment room; control room; exam rooms and clinical space. Employees will include physicians and clinical staff fromYaleandHartford HealthCare, as well as additional new staff.

But the Connecticut proton beam treatment facility is still a long way off, as Yale and Hartford Health need to file a certificate of need with the state to get approval. A Yale New Haven Health spokesperson said it could be several years before the clinic is a reality.

“This is a historic moment for cancer care in Connecticut,” said Hartford HealthCare President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey A. Flaks in a news release. “This is a truly innovative partnership that will bring our patients access to the most advanced treatment in the world, close to home.”

Yale New Haven Health System includes not just Yale New Haven Hospital, but multiple other health care facilities, including Bridgeport Hospital and Greenwich Hospital. Hartford HealthCare has more than 350 locations serving 185 towns and cities. The system also recently acquired substantially all of the assets of St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport and its related operations from Ascension Health, which previously owned the hospital.