Archie Hwang, a distinguished alumnus of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and the founder and chairman of Hermes Microvision, has made a generous donation to his alma mater. He is funding the construction of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy equipment developed by Heron Neutron Medical, valued at NT$1.2 billion, including installation costs. Taipei Veterans General Hospital will provide the site for this installation, and in the future, the hospital will offer both heavy ion therapy and accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy.
Hwang's donation is a gesture of gratitude for the education he received from his alma mater and recognizes Taipei Veterans General Hospital's achievements in boron neutron capture therapy for cancer patients in recent years. Wei-Ming Chen, the director of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, expressed special thanks to Hwang for his generous and selfless support. Following his leadership in establishing the Chu-Ming Hospital in Hsinchu under National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, a collaborative effort will allow Taipei Veterans General Hospital to utilize the new accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy equipment, enabling care for more cancer patients.
Chen noted that Taipei Veterans General Hospital serves as a national medical center focusing on acute, severe, complex, and rare cases, with cancer patients accounting for one-third of all hospitalized cases. Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Taiwan, and the hospital has consistently invested in introducing the most advanced international cancer treatments, including the latest surgical techniques, cellular therapies, and heavy ion radiation therapy, which opened last year. It is currently the only hospital in the world offering both heavy ion and boron neutron capture therapies simultaneously.
Both heavy ion and boron neutron capture therapies exhibit extremely high biological effects and are applicable not only to common cancers but also to resistant or recurrent malignant tumors. Taipei Veterans General Hospital plans to commence construction of this new equipment in 2025, with completion expected by 2027. Afterward, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University will provide management and use of the facility to care for cancer patients, support clinical education, and promote cancer research, aiming to elevate Taiwan’s cancer radiation treatment to an internationally leading level.
Moreover, this advanced radiation therapy equipment is among the few in Taiwan developed and manufactured locally, having received the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s medical device license. Its collaboration with universities will further stimulate the robust development of Taiwan's local biotech medical industry.
Boron neutron capture therapy is a precise radiation treatment that combines drugs and radiation targeting cancer cells. It utilizes the specific selectivity of tumor cells to absorb boron-containing drugs. Once a sufficient concentration of the boron-containing drug accumulates in the tumor cells, neutron beams are directed at the tumor area, where the boron will interact with thermal neutrons, resulting in a nuclear reaction that produces energy equivalent to millions of electron volts, confined to a cellular scale. This nuclear reaction effectively kills boron-rich tumor cells while sparing normal cells without boron, representing a cell-level targeted radiation treatment.
Currently, Taipei Veterans General Hospital utilizes boron neutron capture therapy based on the Tsing Hua University reactor. In addition to cancer clinical trials, it employs compassionate treatment methods for the most challenging cancers, treating patients who have relapsed after other failed treatments. Since launching the first clinical trial for recurrent head and neck cancer on August 11, 2010, the hospital has treated over 500 patients, achieving a two-year overall survival rate of 47% and an overall response rate of 65%. The compassionate treatment of recurrent glioblastoma also shows a 70.6% overall response rate. Plans for boron neutron capture therapy will also include meningioma, gynecological cancers, and breast cancer as future development directions.
Chen also expressed gratitude to the long-standing collaborative team from National Tsing Hua University. The university's reactor has been the only stable neutron source suitable for this type of therapy, and for 14 years, it has worked closely with Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s medical team to provide compassionate treatment for particularly difficult head and neck tumors, gaining international attention and recognition. In recent years, an increasing number of patients from Europe, America, Japan, Australia, and China have sought treatment across the ocean.
The high-quality neutron beams and research teams from Tsing Hua University will continue to play an important role in the future development of accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy at the hospital. Taipei Veterans General Hospital has already included the construction of a boron neutron capture therapy center in its medium- and long-term development plans, having reserved space and budgeted annually to accommodate the rapidly increasing domestic and international patient demand.
Chen thanked Chi-Hung Lin, the president of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, for his foresight. Taipei Veterans General Hospital is the university's most important clinical and teaching partner. The hospital has agreed to accept the donated accelerator-based boron neutron capture equipment for clinical, educational, and research purposes, significantly reducing the original project timeline and benefiting cancer patients sooner while enhancing collaborative research and teaching efforts.
As the only medical institution in Taiwan capable of conducting clinical boron neutron capture therapy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital is focusing on clinical trials and emergency care for recurrent glioblastoma, a highly challenging task. Once the equipment is operational, it will greatly reduce patient travel burdens during treatment, effectively lowering risks in emergency situations while providing timely and adequate healthcare services centered on patient needs. The hospital will also actively collaborate with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic agents and research new indications, allowing the donor's generous act to have a broader impact and benefit more patients.
Resource (mandarin): 癌症精準治療 北榮將興建加速器型硼中子捕獲治療設備
