ROCHESTER – The Mayo Clinic took one step closer to the brave new world of cancer treatments Tuesday but also strode squarely into a national debate over the spiraling cost of high-tech medical marvels.
The clinic unveiled a massive new building housing its proton beam therapy center, which will allow Mayo's radiation oncologists to zap cancerous tumors with greater precision. Many researchers say the new therapy, projected to come online at Mayo in 2015, is an important tool to avoid the side effects of standard X-ray therapy in children with cancer and in adults who have tumors close to important structures like the spinal cord.
But the machines are so expensive that some medical centers have turned the beams on more routine and more common tumors, such as prostate cancer, to help pay for them. Mayo is building two proton therapy centers — one in Rochester and another at its campus in Arizona — at a cost of $380 million.
Exhibit A in what's wrong
The two facilities were cited as "Exhibit A" in what's wrong with American health care by Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, chair of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy and a prominent health care commentator, in a 2012 column in the New York Times. Emanuel said there is no convincing evidence that proton beam therapy works better than cheaper treatments for more common cancers.
Dr. John Noseworthy, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, responded in a letter saying the clinic built the facilities with its own money and philanthropic gifts to develop therapies that will provide more effective treatment without having to send patients outside of the Midwest. Mayo expects the Rochester center will treat about 1,200 patients a year.
The National Association for Proton Therapy says there are 14 operational proton centers and a dozen more in development.
Dr. Robert Foote, chair of Mayo's radiation oncology department, said the clinic currently refers many people to centers in Massachusetts, Texas and Florida. But the therapy often takes a couple of months, and not everyone can afford to leave home for that long. Foote said his department sees 3,500 to 4,000 patients a year. "There's a real need for proton beam therapy," he said.
The centerpiece of Mayo's center, called a Synchrotron, lies below ground in the Richard O. Jacobson Building, behind walls that are 8 feet thick. The blocklong building is named after an Iowa trucking, warehousing and packaging magnate who donated $100 million toward its construction.