The Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Humanitarian and Scientific Foundation is setting up the first cancer treatment centre that will use proton beam therapy.

The centre, located in Al Shahamh area in Abu Dhabi, will cost AED220 million (US$60 million) and provide therapeutic services to nearly 1,300 patients annually from the UAE and abroad. It is scheduled to start operations from the last quarter of 2018.

H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President and Supreme Chairman of the Foundation, signed a partnership with the British Proton Group, Al-Sayer Group in Kuwait and the Al-Fardan Group to implement the project.

Dr. Mahmoud Taleb, Executive Director of the Foundation, stressed the keenness of the organisation to opt for strategic partnerships in all projects related to improvement of healthcare services in the country, with the aim to revamp the UAE’s status as a destination for medical tourism in the region.

The Foundation is also setting up the first centre for bone marrow implantation in the UAE to provide better medical services to patients in the country and the region, he said.

He referred to the recent establishment of two centres in the UAE for treatment of thalassaemia, noting that they supported thalassaemia patients in some Arab countries such as Morocco and Yemen by setting up associations to provide better care.

"The new cancer centre will serve about 1,300 patients annually, and is expected to start providing therapeutic services from the last quarter of 2018," said Dr. Mahdi Ali Fardan Al Fardan, Chairman of the Board of Proton Centre in Abu Dhabi.

The centre will treat all types of cancer, especially children’s tumours and prostate cancer, and the rate of cure, using this technique, will be very high, he added.