China's first proton therapy center for children was established at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai on March 3, 2021. (Photo: China Daily)

China's first proton therapy center for children was established at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai on Wednesday, the result of a strategic collaboration between the medical institution, Fosun Healthcare, and Hong Kong-based Mevion Medical Technology Group Ltd.

Besides setting up a proton therapy center at the hospital's new Hongqiao branch, the strategic collaboration also involves Sino-US research and development cooperation, talent cultivation, and the establishment of such a center in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Official statistics show that the average annual growth rate of tumor incidence among children aged 0 to 14 in China has reached 2.5 over the past decade, and malignant tumors have become a main culprit of children's death in the country, second only to accidents.

Proton therapy, which experts said can realize precise "directed blasting" of tumor cells, is an innovative tumor treatment method that is less harmful, highly accurate, and comes with a good prognosis. Patients' 5-year survival rates can be as high as 84 percent, medical experts said.

"We very much look forward to this multi-party strategic collaboration to further elevate the treatment capacity and level for child tumor cases and ultimately promote the high-quality development of children's health," said Huang Guoying, president of the Children's Hospital of Fudan University.

Chen Yuqin, co-president of Fosun Pharma and chairman of Fosun Healthcare, said that women and children's health has long been an area in which Fosun invests heavily in.

"The collaboration this time is aimed at providing better solutions for child patients and bringing new hopes for families with children suffering from tumors," he said.