Survival Rate of 3 Major Intractable Cancers Doubled... 'Dream Treatment Device' Released

Yonsei Medical Center Introduces Korea's First
Heavy Ion Therapy Center Unveiled
Reduced Side Effects and Treatment Duration Compared to Conventional Radiation

Yonsei Medical Center Heavy Ion Therapy Center Fixed Beam Treatment Room.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Yonsei University Medical Center, which is introducing the carbon ion therapy machine?known as the "dream cancer treatment device"?for the first time in Korea, unveiled its Carbon Ion Therapy Center on the 19th. Starting with the operation of a fixed carbon ion therapy machine in March next year, and with two rotating (gantry) therapy machines running by 2024, Korea will become a fully-fledged country equipped with carbon ion therapy machines.

Yonsei Medical Center has been pursuing the introduction of carbon ion therapy machines since 2013. Beginning as the Yonsei Cancer Center in 1969 and evolving into the current Yonsei Cancer Hospital, it has played a leading role in cancer treatment in Korea. This initiative stems from its mission to adopt the latest cancer treatment methods. Kim Yong-bae, Vice President of Yonsei Cancer Hospital, said, "Because carbon ion therapy machines are expensive equipment, there were many concerns, and since it involves a large cost, the consent of the university members was necessary. We reached a consensus that if we were going to introduce such equipment, it should be carbon ions rather than protons."

Yonsei Medical Center invested about 300 billion KRW in building the Carbon Ion Therapy Center, with nearly half of that amount spent purely on equipment costs. In 2018, they signed a contract with Toshiba to introduce one fixed therapy machine and two rotating therapy machines. As of today, the equipment installation progress rate is about 90%. Yonsei Medical Center plans to start prostate cancer treatment using the fixed therapy machine in March next year, then operate one of the rotating therapy machines in September six months later, and finally run the remaining one around March 2024. Yonsei Medical Center is the only institution worldwide to introduce two rotating therapy machines.

Particle accelerator at the Particle Therapy Center.

Currently, there are 15 medical institutions worldwide that have introduced carbon ion therapy machines. Japan, which has led this field since the 1990s, operates seven centers. Besides Japan, Germany, Austria, Italy, and China have also introduced carbon ion therapy machines. Once Yonsei Medical Center officially operates its carbon ion therapy machines, it will be the 16th medical institution worldwide and the first in Korea.

The biggest feature of carbon ion therapy is that it can be applied to most cancer types while having significantly fewer side effects compared to conventional radiation therapy, and it can drastically shorten patients' treatment periods. Conventional radiation therapy typically requires about 25 sessions, taking roughly a month for treatment, whereas carbon ion therapy averages 12 sessions. Each treatment session, including preparation time, is completed within 30 minutes. At the same time, it precisely attacks cancer cells, minimizing the impact on surrounding tissues. Vice President Kim said, "The radiation delivered to normal tissues is very low, and the short treatment period is very convenient for patients. It is the most suitable radiation therapy device for the ultra-aged society."

Yonsei Medical Center expects to treat an average of 50 cancer patients per day and 1,200 patients annually at the Carbon Ion Therapy Center. Yoon Dong-seop, President of Yonsei Medical Center, said, "Carbon ion therapy is expected to more than double the 5-year survival rate for the three major intractable cancers?pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, and liver cancer?whose survival rates are below 30%. By starting Korea's first carbon ion therapy, we will become a new hope for patients with intractable cancers in Korea."

☞ Carbon Ion Therapy = A cutting-edge radiation therapy technique that uses carbon ions accelerated to target and destroy cancer cells. Carbon ions are generally 20,000 times heavier than X-rays and 12 times heavier than protons accelerated from hydrogen, allowing them to attack cancer cells more powerfully. They release maximum energy at the target site, minimizing the impact on other tissues besides the targeted cancer cells. This therapy can be used for all solid cancers except blood cancers and has shown strong effectiveness in treating prostate cancer, head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, and others.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.