Inside Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center: South China's First Proton Therapy Center

Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center (GCCC), located in the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, is home to the first operational proton therapy center in South China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao). The center officially began clinical treatment on December 23, 2024. Within 19 months — by July 2026 — it had provided proton radiotherapy to more than 1,000 patients; according to the August 2026 interim report of its parent company, Concord Medical (CCM), the cumulative total has surpassed 1,100 patients, with consecutive single-day treatment volumes exceeding 100 sessions. Patients come from across China and more than 20 countries worldwide.

About the Hospital

GCCC is a tertiary specialized oncology hospital that opened in June 2021. It was planned, built and initially operated with in-depth support from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center — consistently ranked among the world's top cancer hospitals. Its radiation oncology practice strictly follows MD Anderson radiotherapy protocols and guidelines, together with clinical practice guidelines from the U.S. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO). The hospital is also a certified referral partner of Mayo Clinic, with access to Mayo remote consultations and second opinions.

The hospital is situated in the core area of the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, a fast-developing innovation hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The Proton Therapy System

The center is equipped with the Varian ProBeam® proton therapy system — one of the most advanced proton therapy platforms available globally — featuring four treatment rooms with 360-degree rotating gantries. The four-room, high-throughput design shortens waiting times: according to the hospital, completing 1,000 cases in 19 months places its operational efficiency among the top tier internationally. By comparison, Emory Proton Therapy Center in the United States took about 2 years to reach a comparable milestone, Singapore's National Cancer Centre took 26 months to complete 500 cases, and UCLH in the United Kingdom took nearly 4 years.

Proton therapy exploits a unique physical property known as the "Bragg Peak" effect. Unlike conventional photon radiation, which releases energy along its entire path through the body, proton beams deposit the majority of their energy at a precise depth — the tumor site — with virtually zero exit dose beyond the target. This means healthy tissues in front of and behind the tumor receive substantially less radiation.

The system employs three core technologies to maximize precision:

• Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS) : Delivers the proton beam in extremely fine layers, painting the dose to match the tumor's three-dimensional shape with millimeter-level accuracy.

• Real-Time Image Guidance: Daily imaging verification ensures the patient's position matches the treatment plan before each session, achieving sub-millimeter positioning accuracy.

• Motion Management: Tracks and compensates for tumor movement caused by breathing or other physiological processes, particularly critical for tumors in the chest and abdomen.

Clinical Results and Patient Volume

At the hospital's fifth-anniversary event in June 2026, the center reported having treated over 900 patients; the figure surpassed 1,000 in July 2026 and 1,100 in the company's August 2026 interim report, with daily treatment capacity exceeding 100 sessions. According to hospital data, 97.7% of patients complete their planned course of treatment. Among patients who have completed efficacy evaluations, the short-term outcomes are:

• Objective Response Rate (ORR) : 77.7%

• Disease Control Rate (DCR) : 97.9%

Patients range in age from 13 months to 91 years, including over 120 children under the age of 14. The patient base spans 32 provincial-level administrative regions across China, as well as more than 20 countries across Europe, the Americas and Southeast Asia. Cases cover dozens of solid tumor types, including head and neck, intracranial, lung, breast, digestive-system, urinary and gynecological tumors, as well as ocular tumors, bone and soft tissue sarcomas and lymphomas.

Disease Types Most Commonly Treated

• Head and neck tumors, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma — one of the center's largest case categories. Proton therapy substantially reduces radiation to the salivary glands, auditory structures and brainstem, helping to preserve hearing and swallowing function.

• Breast cancer, particularly left-sided breast cancer, where sparing the heart and lungs from radiation is especially valuable.

• Lung cancer and other thoracic tumors.

• Central nervous system tumors, including pediatric brain tumors such as medulloblastoma and ependymoma.

• Pediatric tumors (around 10% of patients at the one-year mark), where reducing radiation to the developing brain, bones and endocrine system is critically important for long-term quality of life.

• Abdominal tumors, including liver and pancreatic cancer.

• Urological tumors, including prostate and kidney cancer.

• Gynecological tumors, ocular tumors, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, and lymphomas.

Notable Clinical Milestones

In July 2025, the center completed China's first proton therapy case for choroidal melanoma — the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults, historically treated mainly through eye removal (enucleation). The patient received pencil beam scanning proton therapy at a total dose of 60 GyE in 10 fractions under real-time image guidance, and the eye and vision were successfully preserved. The 2024 NCCN guidelines recommend proton therapy as a first-line option for choroidal melanoma meeting specific indications. As an international reference, a large German study of 982 ocular melanoma patients reported local control rates of 96.4% and eye preservation rates of 95.0% with proton therapy. The center has since completed more than a dozen such cases.

In another notable case (December 2025), a patient with dual primary cancers — prostate cancer and rectosigmoid junction cancer — achieved remarkable results after proton therapy: the prostate lesion shrank with normalized tumor markers and no active disease on imaging, while the rectosigmoid cancer achieved pathological complete response confirmed by surgery.

The "Proton Escort Team" Model

A distinguishing feature of GCCC's approach is the "Proton Escort Team" — a dedicated five-member care team assigned to each proton therapy patient:

• Radiation Oncologist: Takes the medical history, assesses the case, delineates the tumor target, designs the treatment plan and leads all clinical decisions throughout treatment.

• Medical Physicist: Designs and verifies the treatment plan, calculates optimal proton beam angles and dose distribution, and performs rigorous quality control.

• Radiation Therapist: Handles immobilization, simulation and daily precision positioning with image-guided verification, keeping setup error to a minimum.

• Nursing Team: Provides admission assessment, observation, professional care and emotional support, ensuring safety and comfort throughout the treatment course.

• Case Manager: Coordinates the entire patient journey from admission through post-treatment follow-up, serving as a single point of contact.

This team-based model ensures that when a patient's condition changes during the typical 1–2 month treatment course — including weight fluctuations, tumor shrinkage or clinical responses — the treatment plan is promptly reassessed and dynamically adjusted through adaptive planning.

Services for International Patients

The hospital has established a comprehensive international patient service system, including:

• Pre-assessment of medical records and remote case review

• Cross-border referral coordination and medical visa invitation support

• Dedicated multilingual medical interpreters

• Bilingual (Chinese-English) medical record preparation

• Dedicated case management from admission to recovery

• International insurance direct billing with nearly 30 insurers and TPAs, including AIA, CPIC, MSH, Ping An Health, Cigna & CMB and Taikang Pension

• Post-treatment rehabilitation and follow-up coordination

• Airport pickup, transportation and accommodation arrangements, with multi-currency settlement

On December 8, 2025, the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission and Provincial Drug Administration named GCCC among the fourth batch of designated medical institutions under the Greater Bay Area "Hong Kong and Macao Drugs and Medical Devices Pass" program, enabling the use of drugs and medical devices approved in Hong Kong and Macao but not yet registered in mainland China.

Treatment Costs and Insurance Coverage

According to media reports, a complete proton therapy course typically costs between RMB 170,000 and 350,000 (approximately USD 24,000–49,000). Southern Media's report on the center's launch in December 2024 cited an overall course cost of around RMB 295,000; the hospital also offers short-course stereotactic radiotherapy (within 10 fractions) for selected tumors of the brain, lung, liver and prostate, priced at around RMB 198,000.

To improve accessibility, proton therapy has been included in Guangzhou's "Suixinbao" and Shenzhen's "Huiminbao" municipal supplementary insurance programs, as well as in numerous mid-to-high-end commercial health insurance products and some million-yuan medical insurance plans. According to the center's one-year review (reported by Ioncol in February 2026), nearly 30% of patients reported achieving full or partial cost coverage through commercial insurance. Patients with qualifying coverage can enjoy cashless direct billing.

Looking Ahead

Under China's 14th Five-Year Plan, 41 heavy-ion/proton therapy systems were allocated nationwide; a 2024 adjustment added 8 units specifically designated for private medical institutions. According to National Health Commission licensing data reported by People's Daily (Overseas Edition), as of March 2025, 54 institutions nationwide had been approved to provide heavy-ion or proton therapy — 12 heavy-ion and 42 proton — covering 28 provincial-level regions, and industry observers expect the total number of proton and heavy-ion centers to exceed 60 by 2030. Proton therapy in China is clearly shifting from a scarce resource to broader accessibility.

For international patients seeking advanced precision radiation therapy with established clinical outcomes, GCCC's proton therapy center represents a compelling option — combining internationally benchmarked standards, high-volume clinical practice and end-to-end support services for overseas patients.

Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information about Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center and public media reports. Clinical data cited is from the hospital's official disclosures through August 2026. Specific treatments and pricing may change; please refer to the hospital for the most current information.