Proton and Carbon-Ion Therapy in Korea: Cost and Treatment Time
Costs and treatment schedules differ between carbon-ion and proton therapy in Korea. For international patients, the hospital confirms the final treatment plan and cost after reviewing the individual case.
How are carbon-ion and proton therapy costs calculated?
Carbon-ion therapy at Severance Hospital is generally quoted on a treatment-course basis for international patients. The quotation covers the carbon-ion treatment course, while consultations, imaging, laboratory tests, and other procedures may be charged separately.
Proton therapy at Samsung Medical Center is generally billed on an itemized, fee-for-service basis. The total cost therefore depends on the treatment plan, number of treatment sessions, planning procedures, imaging, and other services required.
The final hospital estimate is confirmed after the patient’s medical records and proposed treatment plan are reviewed.
Travel and accommodation are separate from hospital treatment costs.
How many carbon-ion treatment sessions are usually required?
Carbon-ion therapy generally uses a relatively short treatment course, but the number of sessions depends on the cancer type and treatment protocol.
For current Severance treatment programs, schedules commonly fall within approximately 4 to 16 sessions. Examples include 12 sessions for prostate cancer and 16 sessions over four weeks for head-and-neck cancers. Other cancer types may use 4- or 12-session schedules.
Severance has expanded carbon-ion therapy from prostate, pancreatic, liver, and lung cancers to head-and-neck cancers, sarcomas, and recurrent rectal cancer. Its published head-and-neck protocol uses 16 sessions over four weeks.
How many proton therapy sessions are usually required?
Proton therapy schedules vary more widely by cancer type and treatment plan.
Samsung Medical Center publishes examples including:
- Liver cancer: 4–10 sessions
- Head-and-neck cancer: 10–30 sessions
- Brain tumors: 20–30 sessions
These are examples rather than fixed schedules for every patient.
The National Cancer Center also notes that an entire proton therapy course may range from several days to approximately seven weeks depending on the tumor type and location. Individual treatment visits generally require additional time for positioning and preparation, while actual proton beam delivery takes only a few minutes.
When are the treatment schedule and cost confirmed?
The hospital first reviews the diagnosis, pathology, previous treatment, imaging, and other relevant medical records.
The treating team then determines whether further evaluation is appropriate and, if so, confirms the consultation, treatment planning requirements, expected number of sessions, and hospital cost estimate.
The National Cancer Center similarly states that medical records should be provided before the first appointment and cost estimate, and that treatment costs depend partly on the number of treatments recommended.
