Results from HIMAC and other therapy facilities in Japan

Abstract

Since 1994, HIMAC in NIRS has carried out the clinical trial of cancer treatments using carbon beams. Total number of patients has reached to a thousand. Since 1983, University of Tsukuba carried out cancer treatments of about 600 patients with proton beams in KEK. Based on the successful results, new construction of proton therapy facility has just completed in the own university. Hyogo prefecture has also completed the construction of both proton and carbon therapy facility, based on the results of both HIMAC and Tsukuba facility. Another proton therapy facility in Shizuoka Cancer Center is now under construction. All of these are of synchrotron systems. The only one proton therapy facility of cyclotron system started the clinical trial at the National Cancer Center (Kashiwa) at the end of 1998. So far about 50 patients were treated successfully. In this paper, firstly the results from HIMAC using carbon beams and then status of the other therapy facilities will be presented.