Clinical Controversies: Proton Therapy for Pediatric Tumors
Despite the claim in the published literature, the introduction of proton therapy for children is not analogous to the evolution of conformal photon irradiation relying on the understanding of the impact of altered dose distributions. The differences in radiobiological effect when comparing photons with protons mean that we are comparing a known entity with an unknown entity: the dose-volume histogram for proton therapy might mean something substantially different from the dose-volume histogram for photon therapy. The multifaceted difference between the 2 modalities supports the argument for careful evaluation, follow-up, ...
Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology - April 1, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Thomas E. Merchant Source Type: research
Physics Controversies in Proton Therapy
The physical characteristics of proton beams are appealing for cancer therapy. The rapid increase in operational and planned proton therapy facilities may suggest that this technology is a “plug-and-play” valuable addition to the arsenal of the radiation oncologist and medical physicist. In reality, the technology is still evolving, so planning and delivery of proton therapy in patients face many practical challenges. This review article discusses the current status of proton therapy treatment planning and delivery techniques, indicates current limitations in dealing with range uncertainties, and proposes possible deve...
Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology - April 1, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Martijn Engelsman, Marco Schwarz, Lei Dong Source Type: research
Biological Considerations When Comparing Proton Therapy With Photon Therapy
This article discusses the controversies associated with these 3 issues when comparing proton and photon therapy. (Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology)
Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology - April 1, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Harald Paganetti, Peter van Luijk Source Type: research
Proton Therapy: The Present and the Future
The aim of most advances in radiotherapy is to improve disease control, survival, and quality of life, and with technological developments, it is achieved by equitoxic dose escalation or simply by more targeted therapy, reducing treatment-induced side effects. Photon radiotherapy technology, in therapeutic use since the discovery of X-rays, has progressed in leaps and bounds to offer sophisticated treatments, delivering defined doses of radiation with a high level of precision to tumors visualized with modern imaging. As good as the photon techniques are, delivered by a variety of highly sophisticated linear accelerators a...
Source: Seminars in Radiation Oncology - April 1, 2013 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Michael Brada, Thomas Bortfeld Source Type: research
