West German Proton Therapy Centre Essen (WPE)
The gentle tumour treatment centre
Welcome to WPE!
Proton therapy at WPE in Essen: experienced, gentle and with few side effects
A cancer diagnosis always gives rise to questions. One of them is always: What happens now? Or: What comes next? The answer is almost always tumour therapy, including radiotherapy and, in many cases, proton therapy – a gentle radiotherapy alternative that we are particularly good at.
WPE is one of the leading proton irradiation centres in Germany and Europe. Within the University Medical Centre of Essen, we are an integral part of the West German Cancer Centre Essen (WTZ) and offer patients tumour therapy with few side effects – in collaboration with all the specialist disciplines required for treatment.
What is proton therapy?
Proton therapy is a modern form of radiotherapy that can be aimed at the tumour with great precision thanks to its extremely accurate beam. The numerous benefits to patients include:
- Significantly fewer side effects
- More effective tumour treatment
- Better quality of life during and after therapy
The precise beam makes proton therapy especially suited to tumours that can be operated on to a limited extent only (or not at all), and tumours surrounded by sensitive tissue, as is the case with organs such as the brain. Its high precision also makes proton therapy the method of choice for tumours in children and adolescents because its accuracy spares as much as possible of the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour.
Tumours treatable at WPE
Thanks to our expertise and close collaboration with the various disciplines at University Hospital Essen, we can irradiate a wide range of tumours using proton therapy – including tumours of the central nervous system such as various brain tumours as well as numerous types of sarcoma and ENT tumours.
We can also provide you with efficient treatment for ocular tumours using our eye-line. Our radiotherapy can also be used on prostate, rectal and liver carcinomas as well as numerous other types of tumour. WPE’s proton-based radiotherapy can be used not just on adults, but also in the treatment of children and adolescents which is one of our many core competencies.
More on therapy enquiries
From initial contact and first appointment to the necessary documents and commencement of therapy: you will find all the necessary information here.
For referring physicians
If you work in a medical service and know patients who could benefit from proton therapy, at WPE we’ll be happy to assist you in assessing the indication and in deciding together with you whether proton therapy is an option for your patient.
The team at WPE
The team at WPE and the Department of Particle Therapy is made up of highly skilled experts working together to get the best out of each individual tumour therapy – with the aim of achieving the most efficient, gentle treatment possible.
Contact us
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about WPE and proton therapy, please contact our Case Management team. If you come to us for treatment, the team will also be happy to help you compile your documents, arrange cost coverage and make travel or accommodation arrangements. It will also establish contact with our radiotherapists.