Huntsman opens first-in-the-area $31M proton radiation therapy center

A new radiation treatment option for people with cancer is now available at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI).

The Sen. Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center is the first of its kind in the Mountain West and one of only 37 such centers in the U.S. The $31 million, 7,450-square-foot addition joins an array of radiation therapy technology and expertise available within University of Utah Health.

While traditional radiation therapy uses beams of energy to kill or shrink a tumor, proton therapy is newer and more sophisticated. It uses particles called protons instead of photons or electrons used in other radiation treatment. This difference reduces the radiation dose to nearby healthy tissue. Studies show patients have fewer and less-serious side effects from proton therapy than traditional radiation therapy.

Before the opening of the new center, patients needing proton therapy would have to travel more than 700 miles for treatment and relocated for the treatment course that usually lasts four to six weeks, five days a week.

Proton therapy can be used to treat adults and children with many different types of cancer. Physicians consider many factors before recommending proton therapy. Those factors include the age of the patient, the health of the patient, and whether the tumor is located in an area of the body very sensitive to radiation.

According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly half of all cancer patients receive some type of radiation therapy, which often is used in combination with other types of cancer treatment such as surgery and/or chemotherapy.

“HCI’s newly opened Proton Therapy Center is a game-changer for patients in our region,” said Mary Beckerle, HCI’s CEO. “In addition to this innovative clinical resource for patients, HCI will also contribute to advancing research on how proton therapy can be used to its fullest potential.”

The proton therapy technology is housed in a three-story facility. The equipment includes a 110-ton gantry, a moveable framework that allows the equipment to rotate 190 degrees around the patient, that holds a 15-ton cyclotron. It accelerates protons to two-thirds the speed of light. The precision technology allows the treatment to target the tumor from the best angles and avoid important structures in the body.

The new center also includes state-of-the-art tumor targeting, with a special combination of proton treatment delivery and CT imaging for tumor targeting.

When fully operational, the center is projected to care for about 200 patients a year.

“It is gratifying to see this major new resource on our campus and in our University of Utah Health system,” said Dr. Michael Good, University of Utah interim president and senior vice president for health sciences. “The team effort that brought this to our campus highlights our approach to marry expertise and equipment with compassionate, patient-focused care.”

“With fewer than 40 proton therapy centers in the country, we recognized an incredible opportunity to deploy our extensive radiation therapy expertise at the University of Utah toward bringing this new resource to our patients,” said Dr. Dennis Shrieve, professor and chair of radiation oncology. “The team that brought this to Utah has been exceptionally dedicated. We are humbled by the opportunity to have this resource at HCI and look forward to collaborating with partners at University of Utah Health, Primary Children’s Hospital and across the region.”

Project funds included donations to Huntsman Cancer Foundation, including major gifts from Zions Bank and the Semnani Family Foundation. The project was designed by Architectural Nexus and built by Jacobsen Construction. Key project partners include University of Utah Health, Mevion Medical Systems, Siemens, University of Utah Campus Design and Construction, and Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

The center is named to honor Hatch’s longstanding commitment to improve cancer care in Utah. He was among the earliest supporters when Jon M. Huntsman Sr. announced his intent to build a major new cancer research center in Utah.

“Huntsman Cancer Institute offers patients an indispensable palliative: hope. Hope, that powerful medicine of the soul, is what animates the institute’s mission: hope that our doctors can find a cure; hope that our loved ones can find relief; and hope that someday, hopefully someday soon, we can defeat this disease once and for all,” Hatch said.

“I have no doubt that the Sen. Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center will play a critical role in this effort. To have my name affiliated with an institution that is synonymous with hope and healing is among the greatest honors of my lifetime.”

Peter Huntsman, chairman and CEO of Huntsman Cancer Foundation, said naming the center after Hatch is “a fitting tribute.”

“World-class facilities such as Huntsman Cancer Institute are not built overnight. This institution, and the Proton Therapy Center, are the culmination of decades of dedication from leaders like Sen. Hatch; visionaries such as my parents, Jon and Karen Huntsman; and the gifted researchers, physicians, nurses, volunteers and more than 1 million donors. It is this entire community that we celebrate this day.”

“For the residents of our state, having a treatment like this much closer to home and family is critical,” said Gov. Spencer Cox. “The Proton Therapy Center underscores the incredible innovative spirit in our state and brings another critical resource to our work to advance insights into the best ways to deliver world-class care to our citizens, which includes densely populated areas and vast frontiers and rural communities. Together, we will continue to band together to bring hope and healing to cancer patients across Utah and beyond.”