Penn Medicine breaks ground for a $224 million proton beam cancer center in Philadelphia
The proton beam therapy center will be Penn's fourth when it opens in late 2027. The others are at HUP, Virtua Voorhees, and Lancaster General.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System held a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday for a $224 million proton beam cancer center at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in University City.
The facility, expected to open in late 2027, will be Penn’s fourth, and will allow the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to undergo upgrades. The Presbyterian center will also be named for the family of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.
Proton beam therapy is designed to target tumors more precisely than other kinds of radiation treatment for some kinds of cancers, thus doing less damage to surrounding tissue.
» READ MORE: What to know about proton therapy, the costly and controversial cancer radiation treatment
Penn says it treats more than 700 patients annually at HUP and its two other proton therapy centers, at Virtua Health in South Jersey and at Lancaster General Health’s Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute in Lancaster County.
The Presbyterian facility will have two proton therapy machines. The hospital expansion will include a treatment room for photon therapy, which uses high-energy X-ray beams, Penn said.