In a first-ever milestone in cancer treatment in India, the Apollo Proton Cancer Center (APCC) in Chennai has successfully performed Total Marrow Irradiation (TMI) as a conditioning protocol prior to Bone Marrow Transplant.

The 35-year-old Nurse from Oman who was battling for life with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in blast crisis. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The Apollo Proton Cancer Centre has opened new frontiers in cancer care and it is a proud moment today, just a few months after the launch, to see the APCC achieve this significant landmark with two successful cases of Total Marrow Irradiation for the first time in the country. This achievement validates our investment in the APCC in bringing this best and latest medical technology to India. We are sure that the future will see the APCC achieve many more milestones and take the battle against cancer forward not just for patients in India but also from South East Asia.”

The nurse from Oman underwent the procedure at South East Asia’s first Proton Therapy Center. She was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) with mixed phenotypic acute leukemia. After the diagnosis, she underwent chemotherapy 2 cycles at Oman and achieves remission and then referred to Apollo for Bone Marrow Transplant. The doctors at Apollo decided to proceed with Total Marrow Irradiation based conditioning for the transplant.

The Total marrow irradiation was successfully conducted from 18 to 20 April and it was followed by two days of chemotherapy. The patient subsequently underwent the peripheral blood stem cell transplantation on 23 April 2019.