According to global tumor epidemiology data, approximately 300000 children under the age of 15 suffer from tumors every year, most of whom are school-age children.

With the advancement of medical technology, the 5-year survival rate of pediatric cancer patients has significantly improved, reaching 80% in developed countries in Europe and America. The 5-year survival rate of pediatric cancer patients in China is also close to 60%~70% [2].

Radiation therapy is one of the important methods for treating malignant tumors in children.

With the improvement of survival rate and prolongation of survival period in radiation therapy, the toxic side effects related to treatment, such as growth and development delay, neuropsychiatric abnormalities, have attracted people's attention.

The control and cure rates of many tumors are significantly correlated with radiation dose, and more and more scholars are committed to studying how to increase radiation dose and further reduce radiation damage to normal tissues.

Scientists have long had a solution to the challenge of radiation therapy for tumors - proton therapy.

Proton beams can deposit through tissues at the minimum dose until the Bragg peak of energy deposition is generated at the end of the ray path. The dose deposited before reaching the Bragg peak is approximately 30% of the maximum peak, while the dose delayed after its peak is almost zero.

Compared with photon radiation therapy, proton therapy provides a similar dose of radiation to the tumor target area, while reducing the cumulative radiation dose throughout the patient's body by 50% to 60% [1].

That is to say, proton therapy can reduce the exposure dose to normal tissues while maintaining a high radiation dose for tumors, thereby improving survival and tumor control rates while reducing the risk of treatment-related adverse events, toxic side effects, and secondary primary tumor risks [1], greatly improving the quality of life of child tumor survivors.

Lautenschlaeger and others found that the risk of breast cancer was greatly reduced and the risk of heart disease was reduced by 50% [1] when they used proton therapy instead of photon radiotherapy to treat cancer.

Specifically, the advantages of proton therapy for pediatric tumors are mainly manifested in the following four aspects.

The current treatment technology can finely modify the proton beam according to the patient's tumor lesion situation (such as intensity modulated irradiation, conformal irradiation, etc.) to meet the treatment needs and achieve the optimal dose distribution.

Children with retinoblastoma are mostly treated with surgical enucleation of the eyeball and radiation therapy, resulting in low visual preservation rate.

Proton therapy not only has a high local control rate and survival rate, but also preserves the vision of a considerable portion of children.

Compared to adults, children's tissues and organs are more sensitive to radiation, and low doses of radiation can affect their growth and development.

However, traditional radiation therapy often results in widespread exposure to normal tissues around tumors.

Proton therapy can avoid or reduce the radiation dose to normal tissues around tumors, thereby greatly reducing postoperative complications and ensuring the growth and development of children.

The incidence of secondary tumors will significantly increase in patients who have survived long-term radiation therapy, especially in children who are more sensitive to radiation.

Proton therapy can significantly reduce the radiation dose to normal tissues and reduce the incidence of secondary tumors related to radiation therapy.

With the continuous accumulation of proton therapy experience, the types and indications of proton therapy are gradually expanding. There are currently over 20 types of pediatric tumors suitable for proton therapy, as follows.

Brain tumors: medulloblastoma, craniopharyngioma, ependymoma, glioma, germ cell tumor

Head and neck tumors: parotid gland cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Neuroblastoma

Retinoblastoma

Sarcoma: rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, liposarcoma, fibrosarcoma, synovial sarcoma

Proton therapy belongs to high-tech, with expensive equipment and extremely high requirements for venue. Currently, there are few proton therapy hospitals in China.

Due to the enormous advantages of proton therapy for pediatric tumors, it has attracted more and more attention from parents. Many people want to know where to do proton therapy? How much does treatment cost?

Examination and treatment price: 250000 to 300000 yuan

Hospital features:

Hebei Yizhou Cancer Hospital is a tertiary cancer specialized hospital established with the approval of the Hebei Provincial Health Commission, integrating medical treatment, teaching, scientific research, prevention, and rehabilitation.

The hospital has a total investment of nearly 3 billion yuan, led by proton therapy and characterized by radiotherapy, while also considering comprehensive tumor treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunity, and traditional Chinese medicine.

The hospital has a Proteusplus proton therapy tumor system with CBCT image guidance and rotating frame, produced by IBA company in Belgium, which is currently very excellent in the world and has multiple treatment cabins (5 treatment rooms). It also has top-notch diagnostic and treatment equipment such as TOMO, linear accelerator, gamma knife, PET/CT, ECT, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound in China, providing patients with "integrated" medical services from examination, diagnosis to treatment.

The hospital recruits talents and hires experts from well-known tertiary hospitals both domestically and internationally, including Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 301 Hospital, and other hospitals. In addition, it also forms a strong multidisciplinary tumor diagnosis and treatment (MDT) team with experts from MD Anderson and the Cancer Proton Therapy Center of the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.

In addition, the hospital attaches great importance to proton therapy for pediatric tumors and is the only tertiary hospital in China that offers a pediatric tumor radiotherapy department.

The hospital provides a dedicated proton therapy cabin for children, which can customize the playback of children's stories, background music, anime, etc. during children's treatment to soothe their emotions.

And equipped with a comprehensive integrated solution for pediatric tumor radiotherapy, professional pediatric anesthesia and sedation related facilities and medical staff, and a strong expert team with rich experience in proton therapy.

In addition, the hospital also pays great attention to the entertainment activities of the children after treatment, and has set up a children's playground specifically for the children, providing free toys and entertainment facilities to enrich their life after treatment. 

Shimizu Xiangxing is an internationally renowned proton therapy expert for pediatric tumors. He graduated from the University of Tsukuba in Japan and currently works at Hebei Yizhou Cancer Hospital.