Proton Therapy Center is Moving Forward with Global-leading Research Agenda

After 18 months of clinical patient treatment at the Cincinnati Children’s Proton Therapy & Research Center at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Liberty Campus, the proton research center opened this summer. The center incorporates the world’s only dedicated fully functional proton gantry, animal facility and wet laboratories; and proton research activities are in full gear. It is the only proton beam gantry that is exclusively dedicated to research. With preliminary data obtained in collaboration with the Heidelberg Ion Therapy Center in Germany during the past several years, Drs. Mathieu Sertorio, Anthony Mascia, John Perentesis, Ralph Vatner, Yi Zheng and Susanne Wells were awarded a Cincinnati Children's Academic Research Committee grant and two Cancer Free Kids Grants to explore the cellular response of lymphoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to proton therapy. Dr. Perentesis led an industrial partnership with Varian winning a team award of $1.3 million to study new ways of proton dose delivery to further decrease normal tissue toxicity while curing the tumor. The novel research at the Proton Center spans multiple divisions and departments across Cincinnati Children's and the University of Cincinnati, including the Barrett Cancer Center, College of Medicine, College of Engineering, McMicken College of Arts and Sciences Departments of Chemistry and Physics, and the DAAP College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. It represents one of the strongest cross-campus research collaborations in the history of the University.

While clinical data demonstrates strong superiority of protons compared to conventional x-ray therapy for treating children with cancer, the understanding of cellular and organismal response to proton therapy is in its infancy. Expert teams across Cincinnati Children's/UC departments are now in an ideal position to study the benefits of the new proton therapy dose delivery on previously treatment-resistant pediatric and adult cancers, as well as avoiding side effects in normal tissues. Multiple ongoing projects will lead to a better understanding of the biology of proton beam irradiation with the goal of innovation – developing new immune and targeted anticancer drug treatment combinations with proton, predicting outcomes with genomics and advancing proton therapy to avoid complications. The uniqueness of the research programs at Proton Center led the Particle Therapy Co-Operative group (PTCOG) to select Cincinnati Children's to host the 57th International PTCOG conference. Following Dr. Sertorio's award at the 56th PTCOG, Dr. Vatner was awarded the best biology research abstract putting Cincinnati Children's proton research program at the front of the biology research two years in a row. The innovation of proton along with increased referrals to the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute also were strong elements in Cincinnati Children’s ranking as the number one pediatric cancer program in the country by U.S. News and World Reports for 2018-19. Proton therapy is one of the key future technologies for curing cancer, and Cincinnati Children's research will lead the field.