Progress of particle therapy in Japan.

The starting time in particle therapy in Japan was not so early compared to other western countries, but the recent development of medical applications using accelerator beams has been outstanding. After 15 years experience in proton therapy at University of Tsukuba and especially the promising results of recent years in heavy ion therapy at HIMAC, many projects of charged particle therapy are promoted at various places. In this paper, the present status of these projects and ongoing clinical results are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]