The proposed construction of a centre specialising in the treatment that was denied to brain tumour boy Ashya King is set to be approved in Manchester next Thursday.
Proton Beam Treatment – which uses a particle beam to target tumours precisely – could be made available at The Christie by 2017.
Ashya, five, hit the headlines this last week when a European Arrest Warrant was issued for his parents, when they removed him from hospital and fled to Spain.
Dr Ed Smith, a consultant paediatric oncologist at The Christie, said: “Children and young people in the UK will benefit from local access to this advanced form of treatment, with better outcomes and less chance of long-term side effects.
“This exciting development for Manchester will build on an already large and comprehensive paediatric oncology service.”
Brett and Naghemeh King, who were subsequently arrested and released after an almighty public backlash, were hoping to seek Proton Beam Treatment for Ashya in the Czech Republic.
Ashya, who suffers from a rare brain tumour called medulloblastoma, was refused the pioneering treatment by Doctors in the UK, and is currently in a Malaga Hospital until a court decides if he will be allowed to travel to the Czech Republic for treatment.
Proton beam therapy is favoured for treating children because it targets specific tumours as opposed to x-ray technology which can damage tissue that is still developing.
The Manchester Centre is part of a £250million Government project, and is one of two being built in the UK, with the other one at University College London Hospital.
It is expected that they will open their doors to their first patients in 2017 and treat approximately 1500 patients per year between them.
Dr Nick Slevin, consultant at The Christie, said: “For a specific range of cancers, the advantages of proton beam therapy over conventional radiotherapy are now unquestionable.
“Proton beam therapy can very precisely target the cancer savings lives with fewer side-effects.”
A total of 165 jobs are also expected to be created at the proposed site on Oak Road, which will be built over the existing car park at The Christie Hospital on Wilmslow Road, and will be five storeys tall with three separate treatment rooms.
PROPOSAL: The Christie site is outlined by the red dotted line
However, the council has received 19 letters of objection by local residents, citing that the proposed building would ‘limit the amount of light coming through the windows’.
The new development is expected to add £5.2million per year to Manchester’s economy.
Mike Emmerich, Chief Executive New Economy Manchester said: “This is fantastic news for Manchester and is a further boost to the city’s ambitions to establish Manchester as a world class centre for science and innovation.”
Currently, patients who doctors think will benefit from proton beam therapy are sent to the USA or Switzerland for treatment as there are no PBT Centres in the UK.
The average cost of sending a patient to America for treatment is around £110,000 as the majority of patients are treated in Florida for up to eight weeks at a time.
David Dalton, Chief Executive of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust said: “Patients will now not have to travel oversees for this treatment, at a time when they are trying to cope with their condition, this is simply great news and we are delighted that we are playing a major part in this.
“By working together with partners in this way, it will ensure that we all continue to provide the best possible clinical outcome and high quality care to those patients who are in need of this treatment.”
Currently, the UK only has one low-energy proton beam machine, suitable for treating eye tumours only.
The council’s planning committee will decide on September 11 if the new development will go ahead.
