Massachusetts General Hospital

As one of the first hospitals in the world to establish its own proton therapy center, Mass General has a rich history in treating cancer and benign tumors with protons. When the Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center opened in 2001, our team already had 40+ years of experience, helping to develop and refine the clinical application of proton therapy, at the Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory. We have since treated thousands of adult and pediatric patients with protons and increased capacity with the opening of a second center, the Gordon-Browne Proton Therapy Center, in 2020. Both treatment centers are located on Mass General’s main campus in Boston, providing our patients access to a wide range of world-class services as well as seamless coordination for multidisciplinary care. We offer the latest technology including pencil beam scanning, and image guidance with multiple forms of motion management such as surface imaging and gating, to ensure the most accurate and precise treatment.

As part of the largest hospital-based research program in the country, we have led, and continue to lead, many studies to define the best use of proton therapy for clinical care. Mass General is the lead institution for the Pediatric Proton Consortium Registry (PPCR), which was established to expedite proton outcomes research to ensure access to those pediatric patients who benefit from it most. It is considered the most comprehensive multi-institutional radiation-based patient registry in existence. Additionally, Mass General works in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, National Clinical Trials Network, and cooperative groups like NRG Oncology and Alliance Oncology. Through these collaborations, our researchers have pioneered standards of care in proton therapy planning and delivery that have been adopted worldwide.