Scotland must not be left behind in field of proton therapy for cancer patients

In the last few months there have been many publications as well as TV and radio broadcasts describing the effectiveness of accelerator driven proton therapy (PT) for the treatment of cancer tumours.

PT has an innate ability to irradiate tumours with greater doses and spatial selectivity compared with the electron and photon therapy used widely at present and hence is a tissue sparing procedure.

Indeed, it has been said that if proton accelerators were as cheap and small as the machines used in conventional radiotherapy, at least 90 per cent of the patients would be treated with proton beams.

At present, around the world more than 50 proton accelerators are in general use for cancer therapy. PT is particularly useful for treating tumours in the brain (especially children) and for tumours close to major organs and blood vessels.

Although the Clatterbridge Centre in Liverpool has been treating eye tumours successfully for more than 20 years with PT, in general we in the UK have been slow in the development of this important therapy. Partially, this is because of the cost of the treatment. A typical irradiation course per patient might cost about £20,000.

Over the last few years, the UK medical community has made a considerable effort to make up for lost time.

There are two large NHS proton centres being constructed at the Christie Centre in Manchester and University College London as well as some smaller private centres being constructed by Proton Partners International (PPI) in Northumbria, Newport (Wales), Reading, Imperial West in London. These socalled Rutherford Cancer Centres will operate as a network nationally as well as internationally in the future.

However, there are no plans at present to site a proton therapy site in Scotland. I am assured by prominent Scottish medical experts that arrangements are in place, for any patients north of the border to be treated in Manchester. Surely we can do better than this!

I believe for a country with a world reputation in advanced therapy, this situation is far from satisfactory. The siting of at least a PPI centre in the central belt could be very important for patient treatment and also provide a much needed facility for medical scientists to advance the therapy.

Mike Moran, CEO at Proton Partners has said, “We would welcome the opportunity to have talks with stakeholders in Scotland to build a Rutherford Centre in Scotland”. Such a centre would be staffed by local people for local people.

PROF K.W.D. LEDINGHAM Merryburn Avenue, Glasgow