Cancer
Therapy with Targeted Proton Light, Fewer Side Effects
New research by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has found that oesophageal cancer patients treated with proton therapy experience significantly reduced side-effects (toxicity), than patients treated with existing radiation therapy.
Working with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Dallas, Texas, Michael Chuong, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology, compared two types of X-ray radiation with proton therapy, an innovative approach that accurately targets tumor while minimizing damage to surrounding tissue.
The researchers looked at nearly 600 patients and found that the proton therapy produced a number of significantly lower side effects, including nausea, blood disorders and loss of appetite. The results of this study were presented at the annual Particle Therapy Cooperative Group conference, held in San Diego.
New research by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has found that oesophageal cancer patients treated with proton therapy experience significantly reduced side-effects (toxicity), than patients treated with existing radiation therapy.
Working with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Dallas, Texas, Michael Chuong, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology, compared two types of X-ray radiation with proton therapy, an innovative approach that accurately targets tumor while minimizing damage to surrounding tissue.
The researchers looked at nearly 600 patients and found that the proton therapy produced a number of significantly lower side effects, including nausea, blood disorders and loss of appetite. The results of this study were presented at the annual Particle Therapy Cooperative Group conference, held in San Diego.
"This evidence underscores the precision of proton therapy and how this technique can really make a difference in the lives of cancer patients," said Dr. Chuong.
Patients with esophageal cancer may suffer various side effects, including nausea, fatigue, lack of appetite, blood disorders, as well as lung and heart problems. Proton therapy does not make a difference in all these side effects, but it has a significant effect on some types of side effects.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine will open the Maryland Proton Treatment Center (MPTC). This center will provide one of the latest and most precise forms of existing radiation therapy, in the form of beam scanning (PBS) pencil. This PBS technique can target tumors, while significantly reducing radiation doses in healthy tissues. This technique can precisely direct radiation to the most difficult to reach tumor areas.
Proton therapy is one of several new methods to treat cancer. Other new techniques that can be used are:
1. Selective Internal Radiation Therapy, this technique has the precision to treat patients with highly liver-related tumors (liver) and such as on colorectal cancer.
2. Gammapod, a new method with high precision and non-invasive to treat early-stage breast cancer.
3. Hot therapy, this therapy uses "heat" to treat a broad spectrum of cancerous malignancies.
Proton therapy works well for different types of tumors, including those found in the brain, esophagus, lung, head and neck, prostate, liver, spinal cord and digestive system. This therapy is also an important option for children suffering from cancer and is expected to be an important choice for some types of breast cancer. While most cancer patients have been well-received by today's most advanced radiation therapy, up to 30 percent are expected to have greater benefits from new therapeutic forms of targeted proton rays.