The Government of Victoria, a state in Australia, has provided a funding of $50m towards setting up a National Proton Beam Therapy Centre for the treatment of cancer in Melbourne.
Proton beam therapy provides offers a clinical advantage for many paediatric and adult cancers due to its precision, reduced toxicity and reduced risk in causing cancers later in life.
This makes proton beam therapy suitable for treating hard to reach cancer, untreatable cancers as well as cancer in children.
After 2015 investment of $2m, the $50m implies that planning activities can bolster to develop a proton beam therapy centre in Parkville.
The centre will be operated by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, a public provider and academic provider of radiation therapy services in Victoria, and will build on the research reputation of the University of Melbourne and other partners of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
The latest funding funding announcement follows opening of a Victorian Comprehensive Cancer with an investment of $1bn and and the launch of Victoria’s Cancer Plan 2016-2020 with goals to save 10,000 lives by 2025.
