First Heavy Ion Research Center in U.S. to Be Established

A Texas consortium of researchers led by UT Southwestern Medical Center has received a $1 million planning grant to establish the country’s first National Center for Heavy Ion Radiation Therapy. The grant, from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, is designed to enable the consortium to develop research proposals for the center. The Heavy Ion Center could provide clinical care and research using heavy particles for innovative new cancer treatments. Heavy Ion Radiation Therapy, called the “next quantum leap forward in cancer care,” is not currently available in the U.S. (KERA)