Spain develops prioritization system for proton therapy machines

The Spanish Ministry of Health is developing a scoring system to prioritize patients for proton therapy treatments using machines donated by Amancio Ortega. Because the number of machines is insufficient to meet all demand, the Ministry is creating a protocol to determine access.

Under the proposed system, younger patients will receive higher priority scores. For example, patients aged 14 or younger would receive 10 points, while those aged 15 to 19 would receive 9. Other clinical factors will also influence the ranking, including tumor location (such as the base of the skull or eye orbit), specific tumor types like medulloblastoma or glioma, and the absence of metastasis.

Medical professionals will first select patients who can benefit from the treatment before they are placed on a waiting list governed by the prioritization calculator. The machines are expected to begin operating in hospitals such as Santiago de Compostela and Fuenlabrada by the first quarter of 2027, with full deployment across seven autonomous communities expected between late 2028 and early 2029.