A partner in the $85 million proton therapy cancer center planned for the Baton Rouge Health District is pulling out of the project over questions about the treatment’s medical viability.
Baton Rouge General Medical Center—along with Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and Woman’s Hospital— announced in May it planned to be a part of the clinical team working at the center.
Baton Rouge General CEO Edgardo Tenreiro at the time called proton therapy an “innovative” treatment and a key addition to health programs in the area.
But earlier this month, after meeting with oncology physicians, Baton Rouge General leaders decided to end the hospital’s involvement in the project.
“While there is some promise in treating a limited number of childhood cancers with protons, controlled clinical trials have not demonstrated superior outcomes for the vast majority of cancers in adults when compared to Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy,” Tenreiro says in a statement to Daily Report.
Hospital leaders reviewed medical literature, data from other proton centers and the “clinical applicability” of proton therapy for Baton Rouge General patients, Tenreiro says. Ultimately, he decided the treatment—which uses targeted radiation to treat cancer—has not been proven to work better than traditional treatment in most cases.
The new cancer center is planned for the health district near the junction of Interstates 10 and 12, though organizers are still negotiating its exact location. Construction is set to begin by late 2018 and developers are hoping to complete it by the end of 2019.
Provident ProtonCare, a division of the Baton Rouge-based nonprofit Provident Resources Group, is developing the center and will run it. The group in December acquired Georgia’s proton center for $350 million. A Tennessee firm announced earlier this year it will bring a $100 million proton therapy center to New Orleans in partnership with LSU.
“We respect their decision but we disagree with the basis for it—the reason,” says Provident CEO Steve Hicks. “We’ll be looking to leadership of Mary Bird Perkins and Our Lady of the Lake, and we certainly will welcome any of the radiation oncologists at Baton Rouge General.”
Hicks argues proton therapy is a respected and vital form of treatment for children. The treatment works by targeting high doses of radiation at tumors to save healthy surrounding tissues. Children are more vulnerable to traditional radiation because of its adverse effect on the rest of the body.
“It was never anticipated that all partners would participate in all projects because business decisions can be very complex,” says Suzy Sonnier, director of the Baton Rouge Health District. “We do believe the tech will be innovative and will improve health outcomes.”
Proton therapy centers are generally rare in the U.S.; Baton Rouge will be one of 25 cities with one. Hicks pointed to Provident’s proton center in Atlanta—under construction and is a partnership with Emory University—as an example of the treatment’s reputation in the medical community.
The center in Georgia will provide five treatment rooms and will serve about three times as many people as the Baton Rouge center, Hicks estimates. Plans for the Baton Rouge development include two treatment rooms.
The other hospitals associated with the project, as well as Ochsner Health System, which is not participating, declined to comment.
Louisiana Economic Development is offering Provident a “competitive” incentive package, according to a news release announcing the project in May. Provident will get at least $1 million from a performance-based grant paid over five years starting in 2021, as well as access to the state’s Quality Jobs Program.
Economic development leaders at the time of the announcement touted the job-creation benefits of the project, promising 95 new jobs tied to the development.
—Sam Karlin
