Proton therapy is the most technologically advanced method to deliver radiation treatment to cancerous tumors available today.
Both x-rays and protons damage cancer cells but, unlike standard radiation therapy, proton therapy deposits the majority of the radiation dose directly into the tumor.
For this reason, proton therapy delivers less radiation to healthy tissues and organs resulting in fewer, less severe short and long-term side effects than standard radiation therapy.
The majority of cancer diagnoses including Brain & CNS, Breast, Esophageal, Head & Neck, Liver, Lung, Lymphomas, Ocular, Pediatric, Pancreatic, Prostate, Sarcomas, Skull & Axial Skeleton and many other cancers are candidates for proton therapy treatment.
Proton Therapy has significant benefits in pediatric cancers due to a high rate of curability, remaining lifespan, and the added cost of side effects over time from standard radiation therapy in developing tissues.
Research has demonstrated that proton therapy significantly reduces the risk of developing a secondary cancer from initial radiation treatments.
Proton therapy can be used in conjunction with other cancer treatment modalities such as chemotherapy and surgery.
Patients previously treated with radiation with a recurrence in the treated area potentially can be retreated with proton therapy.
Proton therapy treatments are non-invasive and painless and most patients retain a high quality of life during and after treatments.
Treatments are delivered on an outpatient basis and range from 15 – 45 minutes in length, 5 days a week, for 4-8 weeks depending on the specific cancer diagnosis.
Over 800 clinical studies have been published on proton therapy with the number of studies expanding every year.
Over 170,000 patients have been treated with proton therapy worldwide with over 75,000 of those in the United States.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved proton therapy for treatment of cancer in 1988.
The first proton therapy treatments for cancer were delivered in 1954.
