FEATURE ARTICLES
PROTON THERAPY FACILITIES ADVANCE CANCER TREATMENT By Lisa Sombart
Since its inception in 1946, proton therapy is generally recognized by international healthcare professionals as a superior treatment, compared to that of traditional radiation treatments. Not only is proton therapy yielding successful outcomes among cancer patients, it’s doing so with reduced collateral tissue damage and improved patient experience and recovery. However, the cost of the equipment and associated specialized facilities has limited its use--and the associated potential to change the face of radiation treatment…until recently. The Proton Difference Proton therapy, used to treat lung, brain, head and neck, gastrointestinal, and gynecologic cancers, and other difficult-to-treat tumors, has resulted in a much higher success rate in cancer treatment relevant to the collateral damage experienced by surrounding tissues. Proton beams are significantly different than photon beams and their use is expanding as precision improves and clinical studies demonstrate value for other cancers. A photon beam carries energy through the tissue with the highest dosage near the delivery point and dissipates as it passes through tissue to the tumor location until it exits the body. The beam loses energy as it passes through the healthy tissue and must be adjusted to deliver the proper dose to the tumor, resulting in excess radiation exposure to the healthy tissue anterior to the tumor. With proton therapy, a machine called a synchrotron or cyclotron speeds up protons creating high energy. This energy makes the proton beam increase with depth, rise at the tumor location to deliver the needed dose, and then immediately fall off after passing through the tumor. This is known as the Bragg Peak. The beam can be set to arrive and deliver the maximum dose at the full dimension of the tumor. The main benefit is the ability to target the tumor directly, with a focused beam, that has much lower impact on healthy tissues that are anterior or posterior to the tumor. Beam technology advancements have offered treatment of the precise dimensions of the tumor and minimized the side effects of radiation treatment. Clinic entrance and exam room
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