Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals today said it has signed a pact with Belgium-based Ion Beam Applications SA (IBA) to establish a proton therapy center for cancer treatment that would entail an outgo of Rs 400 crore.

As per the Rs 400 crore contract, IBA will supply the equipment and services to help establish the 'Apollo Proton Therapy Center' including the long-term operation and maintenance, Apollo Hospitals said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy said: "This new proton therapy facility will give patients access to the most advanced radiation therapy technology".

Moreover, the center will become an international proton therapy center of reference in Asia..., he added.

Cancer diagnostics and treatment firm IBA will equip the Apollo proton therapy center with its Proteus PLUS multi-room configuration which will include three treatment rooms with uniform scanning and pencil beam scanning capabilities, Apollo Hospitals said.

IBA will also provide all dosimetry equipment to ensure the safest and fastest commissioning of the center so that patients can benefit from this technology starting 2016, it added.

"We are very excited to be making proton therapy available for the first time in India. The Indian healthcare market is growing rapidly and there is a significant need for innovative approaches to cancer therapy," IBA CEO Olivier Legrain said.

Proton therapy is increasingly considered one of the most advanced and targeted cancer treatment due to its superior dose distribution and fewer side effects, Apollo Hospitals said.

The technology is useful in situations where conventional radiation therapy presents risks to patients, including in eye and brain cancers, tumours close to the brain stem and spinal cord, prostate, liver, lung and breast cancers, and paediatric cancers.