Summary of the Meeting:"Proton Therapy - Present and Future"

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As part of a joint initiative between the Henryk NiewodniczaÅ„ski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Maria SkÅ‚odowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Kraków Branch, a meeting titled "Proton Therapy: Present and Future" was held on January 13th of this year. The meeting highlighted that the development of proton therapy is possible thanks to collaboration between institutions from various fields.

Radiotherapy is one of the primary methods of cancer treatment. The advantage of proton therapy over conventional photon therapy lies in the more favorable distribution of the radiation dose within the patient’s body.

Proton therapy at IFJ PAN has been conducted since 2011. Initially, it was eye radiotherapy carried out on an old cyclotron in collaboration with the Department of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Oncology of the University Hospital in Kraków. Since 2016, in cooperation with the National Institute of Oncology - National Research Institute in Kraków, the latest form of proton therapy has been conducted at a new facility using the pencil beam scanning method.

From the very beginning, CCB (Cyclotron Center Bronowice) was conceived and designed with patient care as its top priority. However, the early years of operation were difficult due to the insufficient number of patients, which resulted from the limited number of indications and organizational challenges related to treating pediatric patients. However, a thorough audit by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) in 2021 showed the public that the project was fully rational.

In the later period, additional challenges arose due to the pandemic and the outbreak of war with our neighboring country.

Despite these difficulties, the collaboration with clinical units has continuously developed and has been ongoing without interruption since 2011. The range of indications and research on the use of proton beams has gradually expanded. On January 11th, 2023, a new regulation by the Minister of Health was published, expanding the indications for proton radiotherapy, where the treatment is reimbursed from public funds.

Currently, nearly 200 patients are irradiated annually at CCB. To date, over 1,000 patients have been treated at CCB, and this number continues to grow.

In addition, a major success is the renewed possibility of treating pediatric patients at CCB IFJ PAN.

The presentations during the meeting covered:

As part of the "Proton Therapy: Present and Future" meeting, a press conference was also held, which was opened by:

• prof. dr hab. Tadeusz Lesiak, The Director of the Henryk NiewodniczaÅ„ski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków (IFJ PAN). );
• prof. dr hab. n. med. Janusz RyÅ› –  The Director of the National Institute of Oncology – National Research Institute, Kraków Branch (NIO-PIB);
• dr hab. Wojciech Cyrul, prof. UJ –  The Director of the University Children’s Hospital of Cracow (UCH). 

The following individuals shared their views on proton radiotherapy treatment

• prof. dr hab. n. med. Krzysztof SkÅ‚adowski – The National Consultant for Radiotherapy, Director of the NIO-PIB Gliwice Branch. ,
• dr hab. Renata Kopeć, prof. IFJ PAN- The Head of the Cyclotron Center Bronowice IFJ PAN,
• dr n. med. Tomasz Skóra – The Head of the Proton Radiotherapy Department at NIO-PIB in Kraków,
• lek. Katarzyna Drosik-Rutowicz – Coordinator of Pediatric Proton Radiotherapy at NIO-PIB, Kraków and Gliwice Branches.
• prof. dr hab. n. med. RafaÅ‚ Tarnawski – The Head of the III Department of Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy at NIO-PIB in Gliwice,
• dr hab. n. med. Szymon SkoczeÅ„, prof UJ –  The Head of the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at UCH in Kraków.

Detailed information can be found at the following link:

https://nio-krakow.pl/radioterapia-protonowa-konferencja-prasowa-13-stycznia-2023/