More accuracy, less harm: Cancer patients benefit from heavy ion radiotherapy

LANZHOU, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A man surnamed Zhang from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was diagnosed with maxillary sinus cancer in May, with a 6.2-cm-diameter tumor expanding in his mouth and distorting his left face.

"I had a headache and could hardly fall asleep. My left eye could hardly open up and four teeth were loosening. My body was weak at that time," said the 51-year-old man from Xinjiang's Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture.

Zhang was diagnosed with cancer in a local hospital, and the doctors told him that 33 chemotherapy sessions and 16 radiation sessions were needed for therapy, and his left eye should be removed through surgery.

After visiting hospitals in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, acquiring information online and consulting with friends, he learned that cancer can be treated without surgery in Gansu Wuwei Tumor Hospital through the heavy ion radiotherapy.

Heavy ion means an ionized atom that is usually heavier than helium. The carbon ions, produced by an accelerator and beamed to about 70 percent of light speed, are channeled into the treatment room to kill the tumor cells of cancer patients.

Zhang went to the hospital in Wuwei City, northwest China's Gansu Province, where he started the treatment at the beginning of June. He received 23 such radiotherapy sessions within about a month.

"There is no lump on my face now. I feel better," said Zhang.

The treatment cost Zhang nearly 300,000 yuan (about 42,264 U.S. dollars). He currently uses chemotherapy to eliminate cancer cells and prevent cancer from recurring, and he takes physical checks in the hospital on a regular basis.

Ye Yancheng, head of Gansu Wuwei Tumor Hospital, said over 1,500 patients have been treated with the heavy ion radiotherapy in the hospital since the accelerator was put into use in 2020.

"The heavy ion radiotherapy is more accurate and less harmful to cancer patients," said Ye, explaining that, compared to X-rays, carbon ions cause less harm to normal cells when penetrating biological tissues.

When reaching the tumor, the beam bombards a target with high-energy release to kill cancer cells, and its direction can also be adjusted, he added.

Another patient, 58-year-old Yan from Hanzhong City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, went to the same hospital after a back pain two years ago. He was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer but was not suitable for surgery, as the cancer cells had spread to the lymph, sternum and other organs.

Yan had already learned about the heavy ion radiotherapy. He decided to receive treatment at the hospital due to its proximity, advanced technology and lower cost as compared with other hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai or abroad.

"The whole treatment process was as simple as taking a CT scan and I did not feel uncomfortable," said Yan. "Heavy ion radiotherapy is gentle and most of my physical examination indicators are relatively in the normal range now."

According to Gansu Wuwei Tumor Hospital, so far, 421 patients with lung cancer, which has the highest incident rate among all cancers in China, have received such treatment at the hospital, and the 24-month survival rate after treatment reached 64.97 percent.

Heavy ion radiotherapy is recognized internationally as one of the advanced radiotherapy methods. Only a few countries have independently developed heavy ion radiotherapy systems and applied them in clinical therapy, including Germany, Japan and China.

The heavy ion accelerator used in Gansu Wuwei Tumor Hospital was developed by the Institute of Modern Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In addition to the facility in Wuwei, similar facilities have been constructed or are under construction in hospitals in other Chinese cities.