Assessing the Economic Feasibility and Social Impact of Proton Therapy: Implementation in Mexico and Latin America.

PURPOSE: Proton therapy (PT) can reduce radiation exposure to healthy tissues can reduce radiation exposure to healthy tissues and improve oncologic outcomes in specific scenarios, but its high capital cost and operational complexity have limited access in Latin America.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: This exploratory cross-sectional study combined an environmental and market scan with semistructured interviews of 54 private insured adults with cancer from eight largest and most representative countries in the Americas. We examined awareness of PT, treatment decision-making, pereceived benefits, potential costs, barriers, and willingness to receive treatment at a proposed center in Mexico.

RESULTS

Prior awareness of PT as a cancer treatment option was very low (3.7%), although 70.4% of participants expressed interest in new cancer therapies and 55.6% preferred shared treatment decisions with their physician. After receiving a standardized explanation of PT, 40.7% expressed interest in receiving treatment; additional participants reported conditional interest related to insurance coverage, affordability, physician recommendation, treatment effectiveness, or further information. Travel was the most frequently perceived disadvantage, while potential treatment costs was the second most common.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate social interest and potential impact in a regional PT service but do not fully confirm and establish economic viability. A center in Mexico could reduce cross-border travel and support regional clinical training and research, particularly for patients with indications likely to benefit from PT. However, implementation should be phased and accompanied by a formal needs assessment, clinical eligibility modeling, payer engagement, workforce development, and a country-specific cost-effectiveness and budget-impact analysis.