Stanford Launching Compact Proton Therapy; Kansas City Planning Integrated Theranostics Center

Stanford Medicine Cancer Center is preparing to launch a first-of-its-kind compact proton therapy system that doctors say could mark a major shift in how tumors are treated. The system, developed by Mevion Medical Systems, is designed to concentrate radiation dose in tumors while minimizing exposure to surrounding normal organs. Meanwhile, a collaboration of Kansas City health institutions plans to establish one of the nation's first fully integrated theranostics platforms for both adult and pediatric patients.

The proton therapy system at Stanford is a specialized form of radiation that allows clinicians to precisely target tumors. It can rotate and move patients into exact positions to target different areas of the body while sparing nearby tissue. The technology represents a significant miniaturization compared to older systems; a 2009 proton therapy machine at UC Davis, for example, relied on a World War II-era cyclotron encased in concrete several stories high. The new compact design uses superconducting magnets, making proton therapy potentially more accessible for patients who previously had to travel long distances. Stanford's team expects to begin treating patients with the system as early as this summer.

In Kansas City, the University of Kansas Medical Center, University of Kansas Health System, Children’s Mercy, and BAMF Health have announced a collaboration to create a groundbreaking research and treatment center. This will be one of the nation's first fully integrated theranostics platforms, bringing advanced research, diagnostics, and targeted treatments together in one location. Theranostics is a precision medicine approach that uses the same targeting system to both find disease in the body and treat it using radiopharmaceuticals, delivering radiation directly to diseased cells to minimize damage to healthy tissue.

The University of Kansas Cancer Center currently offers theranostic treatments for certain types of metastatic prostate cancer and neuroendocrine cancer. The new collaboration aims to advance discovery and treatment while driving investment in the Kansas City region as a destination for health care and research. Children’s Mercy is noted as being among the first pediatric health systems to invest in finding theranostic treatment options for children. The planned facility will establish a vertically integrated approach, allowing radiopharmaceutical production, molecular imaging, radiopharmaceutical therapy, and radioligand clinical trials to all happen in one location. A spokesperson for the University of Kansas Medical Center said there is no timeline yet for the project.