Is Proton Therapy Right for Your Patient

Cancers Treated by Proton Therapy

Since proton therapy spares healthy tissue, the treatment is used commonly on solid tumors in sensitive areas of the body where conventional therapy may cause short or long-term harm, and even risk of secondary cancer. Those cases may involve tumors close to critical structures, difficult to treat cancers, and recurrent cancer after receiving previous radiation. Proton therapy is particularly of additional value for cancer patients who have many more years to live, such as pediatric, adolescent and young adults.

Developmental problems and risk of secondary cancers on their young lives is significantly reduced, thus giving them a better quality of life than if they were to undergo traditional radiation treatments. While proton therapy is not appropriate for all cancers, the therapy is particularly applicable to treat certain cancers, including primary, as well as select metastatic cancers.

Here are some examples of indications:

• Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer
• Bladder Cancer (select cases) 
• Brain and Central Nervous System Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Esophageal Cancer
• Head and Neck, and Skull Base Cancer
• Kidney Cancer
• Lymphoma (especially in the neck, mediastinum and abdomen)
• Liver Cancer (especially hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic liver cancer)
• Lung Cancer (especially centrally located and tumors spread to lymph nodes in the mediastinum)
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Sarcoma
• Spine and Chest Wall-involving Cancer
• Select Gynecological and Gastrointestinal Cancer
• Recurrent Disease (even if previous radiation has been given)