Vietnam is about to have a cancer radiation treatment system worth trillions of dong

Prof. Dr. Le Van Quang, Director of K Hospital, said the above information at Conference on multimodal cancer treatment and hospital management in the digital era – ASCO 2024 Update, November 1.

Radiation therapy is a method of using ionizing radiation to treat cancer. After more than 100 years, radiotherapy has become an important method in cancer treatment. Currently, about 50-60% of multimodal cancer treatment regimens include radiotherapy.

“Facility 4 is the Proton Radiotherapy Center, a radioisotope production area for on-site service,” Associate Professor Quang said, adding that investing in building a high-quality cancer center with an advanced radiotherapy machine system aims to improve treatment quality. Thus, patients can access high-quality services right in Vietnam without having to go abroad for treatment.

K Hospital currently has three medical examination and treatment facilities including Quan Su, Tam Hiep and Tan Trieu, with more than 2,000 medical staff. This is the last referral hospital in the North specializing in cancer treatment. Facility 4 will be built in Huu Hoa commune, Thanh Tri district, with an area of ​​about 8.6 hectares, and is in the stage of handing over the site. This will be the first proton center in the North to treat neurological cancers, especially in children, and other types of lung and prostate cancers…

Previously, the Ministry of Health proposed to build two proton radiotherapy systems worth about VND 4,200 billion, located at Hospital K and Cho Ray. This is the most advanced external beam radiotherapy technique today, overcoming the weaknesses of linear accelerated radiotherapy (popular in our country), especially ensuring effectiveness and safety for children.

Currently, Vietnam has 84 linear accelerator radiotherapy machines, only meeting 60-70% of basic needs. To achieve the minimum criterion of one radiotherapy machine per million people as set by the Government and the Ministry of Health, it is necessary to invest in 35-40 new radiotherapy machines in the near future. Because, each year Vietnam records more than 182,000 cancer cases, of which 60% of patients are prescribed radiotherapy.

According to Professor Quang, in recent years, radiotherapy techniques applied in cancer treatment in Vietnam have made great progress, keeping up with other countries in the region. For example, three-dimensional radiotherapy follows the shape of the tumor; dose-modulated radiotherapy, image-guided radiotherapy, arc-shaped dose-modulated radiotherapy; High-dose brachytherapy guided by 3D images using CT/MR… contributes to improving treatment effectiveness.

At the conference, international experts in the field of radiotherapy from the US, France, Belgium, Japan, Korea… also shared about the foundation and clinical applications of carbon ion radiotherapy; Proton radiation therapy in cancer treatment… This is an opportunity to help Vietnamese doctors learn, improve treatment quality and reduce the burden of cancer, according to Professor Quang.