Japanese company Itochu Corporation will carry out the feasibility study for the proton therapy center planned by the Bucharest City Hall, the municipality announced.

The planned Excellence Center for Oncology Therapy will be equipped with eight proton therapy devices, and other equipment. It will treat both children and adults, and have a capacity of minimum 2,400 patients a year. It will also have accommodation facilities for parents of children who are not residing in Bucharest.

The value of the investments in the center is estimated at EUR 200 million, the mayor said. It will be located on the Vitan Bârzeşti Road, on a 58,000 sqm surface.

The feasibility study is financed by the Japanese government, the mayor explained. It is to be ready within a maximum of ten months. Itochu previously worked in Bucharest on a feasibility study for the integrated energy distribution system SACET and for green energy use in hospitals.

Since the future center is state-owned, the treatment costs will be included in the health insurance so the patients will not have to pay additional costs, the mayor explained.

Over new 60,000 cancer cases are registered in Romania yearly, dr. Turkes Ablachim, the medical director of the Bucharest Administration of Hospitals and Medical Services (ASSMB), said.

“According to the new, internationally approved norms, approximately half of these patients should benefit from radiotherapy. The proton therapy brings selectivity and accuracy to oncology treatments. This technology is based on the fact that protons release a maximum of energy at the end of the trajectory established by the physician; this means that the penetration depth of the energy is pre-established and has a submillimeter precision. There is no exposure beyond the tumor […] so the healthy tissue is spared and the tissue surrounding the tumor is no longer affected. This means that the side effects are reduced and the risks of another cancer occurrence after the radiotherapy treatment are reduced,” she explained.

(Photo: Tsuyoshi Okada, deputy GM of Itochu Corporation, and Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea sign the agreement. Photo source: Gabriela Firea Facebook Page)

editor@romania-insider.com