Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville campus is set to host a first-of-its-kind cancer treatment program: the only carbon ion therapy center in the Western Hemisphere and the first in the United States. The Duan Family Building, completed last summer, was built specifically to house both proton and carbon ion technology, with proton therapy scheduled to begin in 2027 and carbon ion treatments targeted for 2028. Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis appeared with Mayo Clinic leaders for a ceremonial announcement earlier this year, putting a political spotlight on the project.
State officials are pitching the move as part of Florida’s larger bet on cancer research. The governor’s office reports that the state has committed nearly $218 million to cancer research in 2025 and more than $1 billion since 2019, according to the Executive Office of the Governor. The 228,000-square-foot Duan Family Building opened in July 2025 and includes six treatment rooms designed for photon, proton and heavy ion therapies, as reported by Jax Daily Record.
How Carbon Ion Therapy Works
Carbon ion therapy uses accelerated carbon atoms that release most of their energy at a specific depth inside the body, concentrating the dose in the tumor while limiting damage to nearby healthy tissue. Mayo Clinic describes it as a heavy-particle form of radiation with extra biological punch against radioresistant cancers. The approach can shorten treatment courses and reach tumors that often do not respond to conventional radiation, including complex sarcomas and certain head-and-neck and pancreatic cancers, as detailed by the Mayo Clinic News Network.
Why the U.S. Lagged
Analysts say three big obstacles have kept carbon ion centers out of the United States until now: massive construction and operating costs, the long-running absence of FDA-cleared carbon ion systems, and uncertainty over how insurers would reimburse heavy ion care. A recent review maps out these barriers and the research steps needed to bring heavy ion therapy back to North America, per PubMed Central. At the same time, Physics Today reports that device development and clinical trials have been progressing, even as robust randomized data remain in short supply.
What Jacksonville’s Center Will Offer
Mayo Clinic and local coverage indicate that the Duan Family Building will start by offering photon therapy, immunotherapy and CAR-T cell treatments this summer, with proton gantries and the carbon ion system being activated in phases. Project descriptions note that the 228,000-square-foot facility includes two proton rooms, several photon linear accelerators and a dedicated carbon ion treatment room that can also deliver proton therapy, as detailed on Mayo Clinic’s campus page.
Timeline, Trials and Patient Impact
State officials and Mayo Clinic leaders say proton therapy is slated to start in 2027, with carbon ion treatments expected in 2028, according to the Executive Office of the Governor. Experts caution that broad insurance coverage and widespread adoption will hinge on rigorous clinical trials and strong head-to-head data comparing carbon ion therapy to existing options, a theme echoed in industry reporting on the technology’s slow but steady climb toward mainstream use, per Physics Today.
For patients who once had to travel to Asia or Europe for carbon ion treatment, a center in Jacksonville could significantly cut travel burdens and open up new options closer to home, while positioning Florida as a hub for heavy-particle research and clinical trials. How fast that potential turns into everyday reality will depend on trial outcomes, the pace of equipment commissioning and the reimbursement environment, hurdles that scholars have documented in their analyses of heavy ion therapy’s return, according to PubMed Central.
