Dongsan Medical Center to launch Korea's 1st proton therapy hub outside Seoul

2025-07-18     Song Soo-youn

Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center will become the first hospital outside of the Seoul metro region to install a proton therapy machine.

Dongsan Medical Center announced on Wednesday that it has signed a contract with PROTOM of the United States to introduce a proton therapy machine. The proton therapy machine to be introduced is the “ProTom Radiance 330” based on the synchrotron. Dongshan Medical Center signed the contract 470 days after holding a business presentation in March last year.

Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center signed a contract with PROTOM of the U.S. to introduce a proton therapy machine at the hospital on Wednesday. From left, PROTOM CEO Paul Tso, Dongsan Medical Center President Cho Chi-heum, and MediNRood CEO Jeon Seong-bae hold up the agreement. (Courtesy of Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center)

This equipment is a model that has demonstrated reliability through clinical experience at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard University. It is characterized by the precise irradiation of high-energy protons to the tumor site, minimizing damage to normal tissue. It is particularly effective in sensitive areas, such as head and neck cancer, spinal cord cancer, and pediatric cancer.

Dongsan Medical Center plans to begin installing the equipment in April 2028, with the first patients expected to be treated in December 2029. If all goes according to plan, it will be the third proton therapy center in Korea after the National Cancer Center and Samsung Medical Center, and the first outside the greater Seoul area.

It will also be the first tertiary general hospital in Korea to introduce a synchrotron-based proton therapy machine.

“We look forward to working closely together to complete the introduction of the proton therapy machine and create a treatment environment that is competitive in the global cancer treatment market,” PROTOM CEO Paul Tso said.

Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center President Cho Chi-heum said,“The introduction of the proton therapy machine is significant in that it will help to ease the regional concentration of advanced medical resources in the Seoul metro region and create an environment where provincial residents can receive world-class cancer treatment without traveling to Seoul,” said Dr. Choi Ji-hum, President of Dongsan Medical Center.

Dongsan Medical Center will continue to expand its future medical infrastructure to provide practical benefits to regional patients, Cho added.

ProTom Radiance 330, a proton therapy machine to be introduced by Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center (Courtesy of Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center)