The Jiménez Díaz Foundation Proton Therapy Center surpasses 1,000 patients treated

The Jiménez Díaz Foundation Proton Therapy Center, the first of its kind launched in Spain in 2019, has achieved a new milestone in its commitment to technological innovation through the hands of the most specialized professionals, by exceeding 1,000 patients treated with proton therapy.

This milestone adds to the one achieved in November, when it expanded its service portfolio by adding to proton therapy a linear accelerator for magnetic resonance imaging-guided radiotherapy (MR-linac) - the fourth available in our country -, thus becoming one of the few centers in the world to have both technologies in the same facilities, as explained by its manager, Dr. Marta Cremades.

Specifically, in February the center reached the 1,000th patient to whom it has administered the most advanced radiotherapeutic treatment against cancer, directing beams of high-energy accelerated protons in a concentrated and specific manner to the tumor, with approximately half of them being adults and the other half pediatric patients.

Due to its maximum precision, this energy is released locally over the cancer cells and does not pass through them, so the amount of radiation received by the surrounding healthy tissues is lower, reducing the chances of developing secondary tumors or metastases. Because of its effectiveness compared to conventional radiotherapy and its fewer side effects, largely eliminated, proton therapy is especially recommended for certain types of cancers near vital organs or in hard-to-reach tumors, indicates Dr. Stephanie Bolle, head of the Radiotherapy Oncology Service at the center.

In this regard, of the thousand patients treated with this therapy, “approximately a third have been affected by tumors of the central nervous system; another third, by sarcomas of soft parts and bone; and the remainder, cases of head and neck tumors, re-irradiations and other types of cancers,” points out Juan Castro, head of Radiological Protection.

Technology

Inaugurated in 2019, and to optimize the planning of oncological treatments through proton therapy, the center also installed high-definition computed tomography (CT) and spectral imaging technology, which allows for better and more precise visualization of the smallest lesion details, significantly improving the diagnosis, the calculation of the radiation dose to be used, and the irradiation plan.

After incorporating in November the new Image-Guided Radiotherapy Unit (MR-linac), with which nearly 30 patients have already been treated, the Jiménez Díaz Foundation Proton Therapy Center now has the most complete and innovative oncological care offering of proton therapy and high precision adaptive radiotherapy, and in the words of Dr. Cremades, it has positioned itself as the “hub of high complexity adaptive radiotherapy.”

This new technique, which complements proton therapy and which, together with it, is transforming the way radiotherapy treatments are approached, “opens new opportunities for addressing tumors that require high resolution visualization of soft tissues and organs prone to shift, deform, or move inter and/or intra-fraction, such as those of the lung, kidney, liver, or pancreas; and for those near sensitive organs, where protecting healthy tissue is crucial, like the prostate or in cases of re-irradiation," says Dr. Walter Vasquez, head of the Image-Guided Radiotherapy Unit (MR-linac).

Additionally, in these types of indications, this hybrid technology, which integrates a linear accelerator (that administers the radiation) with a system of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, “allows for offering targeted treatments with extreme hypofractionation in SBRT (Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy) adapted to a tumor's anatomy on the day, minimizing accidental exposure to organs at risk, thanks to the capability to perform online soft tissue imaging, evaluate modifications, movements, and risks, among other applications,” concludes Dr. Alejandro Mazal, head of the Medical Physics Service.

The Jiménez Díaz Foundation Proton Therapy Center is also integrated into the service portfolio of the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Madrid hospital - the new name of its oncological area, with which last year it updated, completed, and took to a new level of excellence its previously known OncoHealth -, as part of its hospital campus, which offers patients basic, clinical, and translational research, and the most complete, innovative, and personalized diagnostic and therapeutic offerings, including the newest and most advanced oncological therapies, the latest drugs, cell therapy, liquid biopsy, genomic analysis, and now also the entire cutting-edge therapeutic arsenal with protons and adaptive radiotherapy.

Adapting to the new needs of patients and professionals, without renouncing its foundational principles, and adding to the main hospital building its various locations outside it, the Jiménez Díaz Foundation has become a healthcare ecosystem that unifies the institution and physical spaces under a single concept: the Jiménez Díaz Foundation Hospital Campus, a national and international reference that encompasses all fields of health and has been completed with the integration of the Proton Therapy Center.

Thus, as explained by its manager, Dr. Javier Arcos, around the hospital orbit the Isaac Peral Outpatient Center, the Guzmán el Bueno Rehabilitation Center, the peripheral specialty centers (CEP) of Pontones and Argüelles, the FJD-UAM School of Nursing, and the Jiménez Díaz Foundation Proton Therapy Center; a network to which, by the end of 2026, a new building will be added at the hospital facilities, and which will continue to be completed in the coming years.