Rinecker Proton Therapy Centre
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Munich, Germany
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Rinecker Proton Therapy Centre (RPTC) is the first European proton radiation centre for outpatient treatment of tumours to offer a complete hospital setting. Established by surgeon Dr. Hans Rinecker, Ph.D., the long-term goal is to set up additional facilities in other cities and countries.
Tumours in the head/neck area, where proton therapy reduces damage to saliva glands and minimises dry mouth problems after therapy
Rinecker Proton Therapy Centre welcomes enquiries from doctors or from patients directly, where you have the necessary reports and scans available.
Prostate carcinoma. When used as the sole treatment, proton scanning achieves the same favourable dose distribution as combined brachytherapy/X-ray radiation. This is important to maximise effective dose to the tumour whilst reducing risk of damage to continence and erectile function.
Some conditions benefit from a combinations of surgery, proton therapy and/or chemotherapy and these are available at the adjacent Dr Rinecker Surgical Hospital, with guest accommodation and international patient services.
What sorts of tumours can be treated?
Tumours of the brain and base of skull, including those close to optic and auditory nerves, pituitary gland, brain stem and cranial nerves.
Whilst X-rays can be aimed quite accurately, the intensity of the beam dies away only gradually as it penetrates the body and passes out the other side. For this reason many treatments are given (up to 35) on diffferent days, to allow healthy tissue time to recover between treatments. Unfortunately the tumour can also recover, which can reduce the chance of a cure.
Why choose proton therapy?
In principle, the physical and biological properties of protons allow the treatment of any tumour previously treated with X-ray radiation. Proton therapy is especially suitable for tumours where X-ray treatment is difficult or impossible due to associated side effects. This includes, but is not limited to:
The reduced burden on surrounding healthy tissue enables the number of sessions ('fractions').to be reduced. The radiation dose absorbed by healthy tissue is only 1/3 to 1/5 of X-ray therapy, allowing an increased effective dose to be administered in no more than 15 total fractions
Lung and liver tumours. Preliminary indications from the Loma Linda centre in the USA seem to indicate that proton radiation for bronchial carcinomas (lung cancer) is even superior to surgery.
Worldwide, all proton facilities currently planned or under construction will use scanning technology. Using this method, the beam scans the tumour in a grid-like fashion with the utmost precision, with up to 10,000 target points in the tumour.
Ocular tumours. This is one of the oldest applications of proton therapy since X-rays would damage the optic nerve and brain behind the tumour.
Local recurrence and individual metastases. In selected cases, proton therapy is the only way to effect partial or total removal in all localizations in the body. It is the most common option for metachronous multiple liver metastases (following carcinomas of the colon), which are not suitable for X-ray therapy because of the risk of liver damage.
Proton scanning
Does Rinecker Proton Therapy Centre treat children?
Tumours of the abdomen and pelvis, where adverse effects of proton therapy are reduced by 67% to 80% compared to X-ray therapy.
Spinal tumours and metastases. Proton therapy allows the radiation dose to the spinal cord to be drastically reduced, even at the center of the radiation field.
Yes, children are given priority for treatment because proton therapy can significantly reduce the incidence of secondary tumours later in life, which can be caused by therapeutic radiation.
RPTC has the world’s first system specifically designed and optimised for scanning at all four of it fully movable therapy stations (gantries). This enables RPTC to treat more patients using the optimal scanning method than any other institution worldwide.
RPTC has been in clinical operation since March 2009 and is designed to treat up to 4,000 patients annually. It is available to patients in Germany with statutory or private health insurance and to international patients.
Rinecker Proton Therapy Centre does not conduct research or experiments. It is CE-certified and officially approved by the Bavarian Environment Agency [Landesamt für Umwelt] for health care. It is approved to irradiate all tumours previously treated with X-ray radiation as well as according to international proton therapy regimens.
Is RPTC a treatment or a research centre?
Unike photon beams however, the range of a proton beam can be controlled precisely. It delivers a high energy peak at the selected target, but beyond that the energy level drops very sharply.
Proton therapy is a form of radiation treatment which can be given in the place of coventional radiotherapy using X-rays or where conventional radiotherapy is not possible. It differs markedly and has many important advantages. These include:
How does proton therapy differ from conventional radiotherapy?
RPTC provides a range of services for international patients, including accommodation at the centre.
Specialist treatments < Proton therapy < Proton therapy centres < Rinecker Munich
The Rinecker Proton Therapy Team
Prof. Manfred Herbst
Dr Markus Wilms
Click photographs for more information
Dr Alfred Haidenberger
Dr Marc Andrea Walser
Dr Dagmar Dohr
Dr Christian Berchtenbreiter
Dr Morten Eckermann
Olga Meltser
Christian Skalsky
Hans Delfs
Julia Kinder
Julia Irger
Much more accurate 3-dimensional targeting of the tumour and so greatly reduced side effects.
Ability to treat tumours where X-rays cannot be used, because they would damage or destroy sensitive tissue beyond.
Ability to deliver higher doses of radiation to stubborn, deep-seated tumours than could be allowed with conventional radiotherapy, so increasing chances of survival.
Greatly reduced number of days required for a course of treatment.
Much lower danger of the radiation therapy itself causing cancers later in life.
This is just a very brief summary. For more details visit the Proton Therapy page
"We provide gentler treatment than any other clinic is capable of today"
Hans Rinecker MD PhD, Chairman of the Board, PROHEALTH AG
Is proton therapy suitable for older patients?
45% of patients at RPTC are aged 65 or more and patients of 85 years and older can still be treated. Sometimes proton therapy is the only radiation therapy available to older patients, due to the protection of healthy tissue and better tolerance.
The use of proton scanning technology means that proton therapy can now sterilise small areas anywhere in the body. In practice this means that the limits of treatability are set by the uncertainty of current diagnostic methods, rather than the treatment system. For this reason RPTC is already upgrading its still-new combined PET-CT scanning facilities to provide the best imaging method for cancer diagnosis currently available.
What about patients who have already had radiotherapy or are unsuitable for it?
35% of RPTC patients have previously undergone radiotherapy without success or have been refused radiotherapy, because the dose required to treat the tumour effectively would result in dangerous exposure surrounding tissue.
Please complete the MHL on-line enquiry form for proton therapy at a choice of centres.
MHL (Medilux Healthcare Ltd.) promotes individual hospitals or hospital groups which we believe offer high standards of care. We provide you with general information and details of how to make contact with the centre, but we shall not be responsible for the quality of any diagnosis or treatment given or for the failure to diagnose or treat any condition. We cannot advise or enter into correspondence about individual cases and we do not arrange or facilitate treatments.
Important note to all patients
Tumours treated (to March 2011)
European Union patients
Proton therapy with proton scanning is not yet available in most countries, so EU citizens may wish to seek funding under the S2 (was E112) referral scheme.
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Can I apply for myself or a family member?
You will need to provide evidence that you are covered by national health insurance in your own country.
Make a treatment enquiry to Rinecker Proton Therapy Centre
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