The cost of heavy ion therapy, a "cancer weapon", was announced, with a cap of 198,000, and 77-year-old prostate cancer patients were the first batch of treatments

What is the cost of heavy ion therapy? What is the treatment effect? Can it achieve tumor radical cure? Since the heavy ion therapy, known as the "powerful weapon for treating cancer," was officially put into use in February this year, these questions have been receiving much attention. On April 22nd, the official fees for heavy ion radiotherapy in Zhejiang Province were announced, and the first batch of treated patients also shared their treatment experiences.
The first treatment costs 49,500 yuan.
The ceiling is 198,000 yuan.
On April 22nd, at the heavy ion press conference, Wu Fengqin, Director of the Medical Insurance and Price Department of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, announced the heavy ion radiotherapy fees in Zhejiang Province: 49,500 yuan for the first treatment, 16,500 yuan for each subsequent treatment starting from the second time, and the maximum cost per treatment course shall not exceed 198,000 yuan.
Zhu Ji, Vice President of Zheji

ang Cancer Hospital and Director of the Heavy Ion Medical Center, explained that for patients who receive 10 or more radiotherapy sessions, the ceiling price of 198,000 yuan will be charged. For those who receive less than 10 radiotherapy sessions, the total cost will be calculated by adding the first treatment fee and the subsequent single-session fees. The specific number of radiotherapy sessions will be determined according to the patient's condition. "For example, if a patient needs 5 treatments, the total cost will be 49,500 yuan plus 4 subsequent treatments, with each treatment costing 16,500 yuan."
It is understood that currently, this pricing is the lowest in the country.
At present, heavy ion radiotherapy is a high-end medical project and is not included in the scope of basic medical insurance payment. However, many commercial medical insurance policies on the market, such as critical illness insurance, anti-cancer insurance, and some public-benefit medical insurance policies, have already included heavy ion treatment in the scope of protection. Taking the upgraded version of Hangzhou Xihu Yilianbao as an example, with an annual premium of only 300 yuan, the policyholder can enjoy a reimbursement rate of up to 60% for the first heavy ion treatment cost, greatly reducing the actual burden on the insured.
Vice President Zhu Ji (in the middle) and his team in the treatment room. Photo provided by the hospital.
An 80-year-old man with prostate cancer doesn't want surgery
He chooses heavy ion treatment
Mr. Liu (pseudonym), an 80-year-old man from Hangzhou, is one of the first beneficiaries. He has always been very concerned about health management. During a routine physical examination 3 years ago, he found that the prostate tumor marker T-PSA (prostate-specific antigen) was elevated. Subsequently, through further examination, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"I wanted conservative treatment, so I went to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and took traditional Chinese medicine for two years, hoping to control the tumor." Unexpectedly for Mr. Liu, in 2024, the T-PSA level rose to 44. "I started to feel anxious."
How to treat it? Mr. Liu was in a dilemma. "My family wanted me to have surgery, but I checked the information and it said that there is still a recurrence probability of more than 50% after the surgery, and there will also be urinary incontinence, which will affect the quality of life. I'm not really willing to have the surgery."
In January this year, Mr. Liu saw the news online that the first heavy ion treatment device in Zhejiang Province would be put into use in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital soon, so he made an appointment for Professor Zhu Ji's outpatient consultation.
After being evaluated by the expert team of the Heavy Ion Medical Center, Mr. Liu was very suitable for heavy ion treatment. That is to say, without surgery, he is expected to be cured through heavy ion treatment.
Director Bai Minghua, Chief Physician of the Department of Abdominal Radiotherapy, is Mr. Liu's attending doctor. He introduced that after admitting Mr. Liu, the medical team completed all relevant clinical examinations for him. Finally, the clinical stage was determined to be stage 2 prostate cancer, and he was comprehensively evaluated as having high-risk localized prostate cancer.
Mr. Liu also did a lot of research on heavy ion treatment himself. "Other radiotherapy breaks the single chain of cancer cell DNA, while heavy ions can destroy the double strands of cancer cell DNA. After the destruction, the cancer cells are basically completely dead. I think the effect may be better."
According to the heavy ion treatment plan formulated by the expert team, Mr. Liu spent 3 weeks in total and received 12 treatments.
"The treatment process was quite pleasant. It was very fast, only about 2 minutes each time. I didn't feel anything during the whole process. I just needed to keep still and lie steadily," Mr. Liu said. Because precise positioning was required to avoid areas outside the treatment area such as the abdominal colon, it took a long time to prepare before the treatment.
After the treatment, Mr. Liu said that the T-PSA index he was most concerned about was also controlled, and the T-PSA dropped to 0.18 ng/mL. The colonoscopy showed that he did not have intestinal damage due to radiotherapy.
Photo of the patient receiving heavy ion treatment. Photo provided by the hospital.
It can avoid urinary incontinence after prostate cancer surgery
Reduce the incidence rate of severe rectal bleeding
Prostate cancer is a common malignant tumor among men. With the aging of the population structure, the incidence rate has shown a significant upward trend in recent years. Surgical treatment, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy are the main treatment methods for prostate cancer.
"Surgery is still the preferred treatment method for prostate cancer, but for patients who cannot have surgery or refuse surgery, radiotherapy plays a crucial role," Zhu Ji said.
For example, in surgical treatment, there may be surgical complications such as long-term urinary incontinence, postoperative infection, and sexual dysfunction, and the incidence rate is not low. According to the previous conventional radiotherapy methods, it may lead to acute and chronic radiation proctitis and cystitis. In mild cases, there will be discomfort in urination and defecation, and in severe cases, there will be bloody stools and hematuria. However, the unique characteristic of heavy ion rays, which is "stereotactic blasting," has obvious advantages and better curative effects compared with traditional radiotherapy. While achieving radical cure, the probability of side effects such as proctitis and cystitis is lower and the symptoms are milder.
Japan has a relatively large number of heavy ion patients received in the world. Zhu Ji provided a set of data: According to a retrospective study analysis in Japan, the 5-year overall survival rate of prostate cancer patients receiving heavy ion treatment is about 95%, and the recurrence-free rate is over 90%. Compared with traditional prostate cancer surgery, heavy ion treatment can avoid urinary incontinence (the incidence rate is 10%-30%) and sexual dysfunction (50%-90%), and the incidence rate of severe rectal bleeding is only 2.9%, which is much lower than 4.3% of traditional radiotherapy.
For elderly patients, those who cannot tolerate or do not want to receive surgery, those with a long expected survival time, or those who have high requirements for the quality of life (such as preserving sexual function), heavy ion treatment is undoubtedly another ideal treatment option to help patients relieve their "embarrassing problems."
For this type of pancreatic cancer patients
The two-year survival rate can be increased by two times
In addition to prostate cancer, since February, the heavy ion outpatient department of the hospital has received consultations from more than 600 patients, among whom more than 100 patients are currently receiving treatment or have already had their heavy ion treatment plans formulated.
"There are patients with head and neck tumors, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, chondroma, etc.," Zhu Ji said. Heavy ion treatment is currently the most advanced radiotherapy technology recognized internationally. While performing "stereotactic blasting" on tumor cells, it can effectively protect the normal tissues and organs around the tumor, and significantly reduce the radiation toxic and side effects. Moreover, the biological effect of heavy ion rays is 2-3 times that of conventional radiotherapy rays, which can kill the "hypoxic cancer cells" that are not sensitive to ordinary rays, break the double strands of tumor cell DNA, and thus effectively reduce tumor recurrence. This characteristic is not possessed by other rays (including proton rays). "After it enters the body, it releases very little energy at the beginning, just like walking gently all the way to the side of the tumor site. But when it reaches the location of the tumor, it will suddenly detonate and release a large amount of energy concentratedly, forming the so-called 'Bragg peak'. After the 'detonation', it can pass through the human tissue lightly again, and the energy release along the way will be very little again."
"We have more than 10 pancreatic cancer patients who are also receiving treatment," said Director Liu Luying, Chief Physician in charge of the Department of Abdominal Radiotherapy of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. Pancreatic cancer is known as the "king of cancers," and it has always been very difficult to treat. "For patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer who have not had metastasis, heavy ion treatment can enable patients to obtain a relatively good prognosis. If these patients receive conventional radiotherapy, only about 10% of them may achieve a two-year survival rate, while heavy ion treatment can increase it to 20% or even 30%."
However, Liu Luying also emphasized that not only for pancreatic cancer, but for all tumors, heavy ion treatment is suitable for those that have not spread or metastasized and those that cannot be surgically treated. "For example, for pancreatic cancer patients, if it is in the early stage and surgery is possible, surgery is still the gold standard."
Zhu Ji also reminded that as the most cutting-edge tumor radiotherapy technology in the world, heavy ion radiotherapy also has certain limitations. For example, it is only a local treatment method and cannot replace systemic treatments such as chemotherapy. Patients who want to receive heavy ion treatment should go to a specialized department for consultation. After that, clinical doctors will conduct a preliminary evaluation according to the patient's condition to determine whether they are suitable for heavy ion treatment.