NIU plans to build a proton therapy treatment center to treat cancer and make the university prominent in training staff in the field.

The NIU facility will cost about $160 million and will occupy 13 acres bordering Fermilab at DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago, according to an NIU press release. The NIU facility will be called Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center LLC, according to the release.

In addition to treating patients, the facility will contribute to education and research on proton therapy, Cherilyn G. Murer, a health care executive who also serves as chair of the NIU Board of Trustees, said in a press release.

The university is aiming for a late-spring groundbreaking on the facility that will lead to the building opening in 2010, according to the release. When opened, the facility may be used to treat up to 1,500 patients annually, according to NIU.

“Illinois needs a world-class, university-based proton therapy facility,” Murer said in the release.

Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation is expected to be the clinical services provider for the facility, according to the release.

“Our anticipated collaboration with Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation speaks to the high caliber of our endeavor,” Murer said in the release.

Insurance plans often cover proton therapy, but the treatment is not yet available in Illinois, according to the release.

“Most radiation oncologists know about proton therapy, but have not had experience working with the proton technology, making it difficult for them to advise patients on this form of treatment,” according to the National Association for Proton Therapy.

Along with NIU’s work with Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratories in the fields of accelerator physics, neutron therapy and proton therapy, the facility is foreseen as a regional resource, Murer said in the release.