Bengaluru: The department of medical education in Karnataka on Monday announced its plan to establish the country’s first govt-run proton therapy facility for cancer treatment at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO).
The move came after Karnataka minister for medical education and skill development Sharan Prakash Patil, during a recent meeting with Union health minister J P Nadda in Bengaluru, submitted a proposal seeking a Rs 500 crore grant from the Centre to set up this advanced treatment facility.
A premier cancer hospital of India, KMIO in Bengaluru registers 21,000 new cancer cases annually. Proton therapy-an advanced form of radiation treatment-offers superior tumour control while safeguarding critical organs near the tumour, thus reducing long-term side effects, especially in sensitive areas.
“Unlike conventional radio therapy that uses high-energy gamma rays or X-rays-which can impact healthy tissues beyond the tumour-proton therapy delivers precise, targeted doses with significantly reduced collateral damage,” Patil stated in his proposal.
