Maryland Proton Treatment Center Continues International Expansion with Partnership in Turkey

October 23, 2018

The Maryland Proton Treatment Center announced today it will continue to expand its international partnerships through an agreement with Istanbul University to train physicians from Turkey. MPTC is the first U.S. proton center to form a partnership with Turkey.

The Maryland Proton Treatment Center (MPTC) is currently training the first of three Turkish physicians in proton therapy, as Istanbul University plans to launch its own proton center in the next few years. MPTC International collaborations have also included healthcare partners from countries such as Japan, Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

MPTC has treated more than 1,300 patients over the past two-and-a-half years, including patients from Australia, Brazil, India, China, Europe, South Africa and the Middle East. Since MPTC formed a relationship with Istanbul University, many patients from Turkey have received treatment at MPTC this year, and several adults and children are in the process of coming to MPTC. The relationship with Turkey marks the continued expansion of MPTC as an international proton center of excellence.

“We are working to care for patients from different centers from around the world,” said Robert Malyapa, MD, PhD, director of international outreach and education at MPTC and professor of radiation oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). “This is an important step forward for us. This is a relationship for the long term.”

“We’ve established our center as a regional resource in the Mid-Atlantic, and our international collaborations reflect our commitment to becoming a worldwide resource for patients,” says William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FACRO, Executive Director of MPTC and the Isadore & Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at UMSOM.

Proton therapy is an advanced radiation technique that targets tumors with pinpoint accuracy while limiting radiation exposure to healthy tissues. MPTC is successfully treating difficult cancers including lung, liver, mesothelioma, head and neck, brain, esophagus, breast, prostate, and recurrent tumors throughout the body with proton therapy.

Sule Karaman, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at Istanbul University, is the first physician from Turkey training at MPTC. Over six months, she will observe and share information about treatment, and she will also coordinate care with the referring physicians from Turkey. The experience gained at MPTC will be critical in establishing proton therapy in Turkey.

“The staff at MPTC are taking great care of our patients,” Dr. Karaman said. “We have already treated several adults and children just in the past few months, and they have all been very happy about the treatment and patient care here. Our two centers expect to maintain an ongoing relationship to refine best practices.”

This news was covered in the Baltimore Business Journal.