HU Plans to Construct Proton Beam Therapy Center
Only three proton beam centers operating in U.S.

Hampton, VA - Hampton University, in collaboration with a number of health care providers in Hampton Roads, plans the construction of a Proton Beam Therapy Center, which will be used in the treatment of cancer. Proton beam therapy is a type of radiation that can precisely target tumors while sparing surrounding tissue and causing far fewer side effects than traditional radiation.

Currently there are only three other Proton Beam Therapy Centers in the country, located at the University of Indiana; Loma Linda Medical Center in Southern California and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. About 5000 treatment slots are available at these three facilities. Based on current estimates of new cancer cases in the United States alone, MD Anderson Cancer Center has estimated that over 300,000 patients a year who have localized cancer could benefit from proton beam therapy.

"This facility will not only improve human suffering it will definitely save lives," said HU President Dr. William R. Harvey who is working on the financing, organization and development of the center. "For over a decade Hampton University faculty researchers have been involved with cancer research and treatment is a natural extension of the research."

Traditional radiation treatments often destroy healthy tissue; therefore doctors have to limit the dose. Proton beams deliver a low dose of therapy as it enters the body and increases as it reaches the cancerous tumor and drops as it leaves the body. The physician can shape the beam to match the shape of a tumor, and so deliver most of the radiation to the targeted volume, not to the surrounding normal tissue. The unique capability sets proton radiation therapy apart from other forms of external-beam radiation therapy.

The Hampton University Proton Beam Therapy Center would cost $125 million to construct and employ approximately 100 people. A proposed site for the Center is the Hampton Research Park. Other Hampton Roads cities have also expressed interest as a proposed location for the Center. Hampton University would work in conjunction with area hospitals, medical radiation oncologist and other physicians groups in the development and implementation
of the facility.

Other Hampton University projects that involve the research and treatment of cancer include HU physics professor Dr. Cynthia Keppel's patent on a breast cancer detection device. Keppel is currently working on the science and technology development of the Proton Beam Therapy Center.

The University also recently announced plans for the Biomedical Research Center, which will focus on the research of cancers that disproportionately affect minorities. Funded by the University and a federal government agency, the Biomedical Research Center will be an on-campus interdisciplinary center for biomedical researchers.