Cheaper, Smaller Proton-Beam Cancer Centers Spurring New Demand
For decades, the technology was slow to take off partially because of a lack of evidence that its results justified the expensive price tag. But manufacturers have gotten beyond some of those doubts as they retooled the technology. The number of centers has doubled in the past five years. In other news, research shows that gender can play a part in how cancer develops.
The Wall Street Journal:
Proton-Beam Therapy For Cancer Gets Renewed Attention
To see the explosive rise of proton-beam therapy, an expensive and controversial cancer treatment, look to the billboards of Belgium. Ion Beam Applications SA, the Belgian company that leads the global market for huge proton-beam machines, is selling so many systems lately that it needs to boost its 1,200-strong workforce by 400 workers. It launched a big recruitment drive across the country this year, featuring radio and newspaper spots along with dozens of billboards and posters. “It was very difficult to escape the IBA campaign,” said Chief Executive Olivier Legrain. (Roland, 5/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Men And Women’s Genes Help Explain Why Cancer Affects Them Differently
Researchers are shedding new light on why cancer is often a different disease for men than it is for women. A new study suggests that for many cancers, important differences in the genetics of tumors in men as compared with women may affect the development and aggressiveness of the disease or how it responds to treatment. Researchers said the findings could eventually affect drug development and lead to strategies for preventing and treating cancer that take a patient’s sex into account. (Winslow, 5/16)
