The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center plans to establish 25 cancer centers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia in the coming decade in a joint venture with GE Healthcare.

Charles Bogosta, president of UPMC's international and commercial services division, said the region's largest health system already is in discussions with hospital companies in Turkey, Greece, Germany and South Korea.

UPMC currently operates two cancer centers in Ireland.

The idea, said Mr. Bogosta, is to bring a higher level of cancer treatment to areas where patients currently have access to only basic radiation oncology or basic surgical oncology. The planned UPMC centers might be able to offer specialized treatments such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy, which can target a tumor with high dosages while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

"There are also drug treatment protocols and treatment pathways we would be bringing."

Staffing, he said, would be a mix of local and imported workers. "We will bring in at least one or two UPMC staff" -- primarily physicians, a chief operating officer or a chief medical officer.

Mr. Bogosta said the collaboration was an extension of a 20-year relationship with GE Healthcare, now based in the United Kingdom, which specializes in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems and other patient care services.

No money will change hands in the collaboration with GE Healthcare, although Mr. Bogosta said the cancer centers would purchase and use GE Healthcare equipment whenever appropriate.

In exchange, GE Healthcare will offer its international expertise in determining the best markets for the centers, based on the reimbursement structure of a particular site, expected patient flow, the regulatory and political climate, and potential cultural barriers.

"We are in 100 countries. We know the health-care market around the globe," said Jim Torres, GE Healthcare's general manager for global funding operations. "What we bring to the agreement is global knowledge, knowledge of health care and state-of-the-art technical equipment."

Added Mr. Bogosta, "There's no other partnership like this in the world, that we're aware of."

He said Egypt's health minister had contacted them about possibly developing a cancer center there, too. "Countries are willing to pay a premium to bring in this type of high-level care," he said.

Although there will be variations from country to country, revenue margins overseas "are typically higher than in the U.S.," Mr. Bogosta said, particularly given the declining outlook for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.