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Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Living With Cancer

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Proton therapy is a type of radiation therapy — a treatment that uses high energy beams to treat tumors. Radiation therapy using X-rays has long been used to treat cancers and noncancerous (benign) tumors. Proton therapy is a newer type of radiation therapy that uses energy from positively charged particles called protons.

Proton therapy has shown promise in treating several kinds of cancer. Studies have suggested that proton therapy may cause fewer side effects than traditional radiation, since doctors can better control where the proton beams deposit their energy. But few studies have directly compared proton therapy radiation and X-ray radiation, so it's not clear whether proton therapy is more effective in prolonging lives.

Proton therapy isn't widely available in the United States.

References
  1. Brada M, et al. Current clinical evidence for proton therapy. Cancer Journal. 2009;15:319.
  2. Olsen DR, et al. Proton therapy: A systematic review of clinical effectiveness. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2007;83:123.
  3. Flanz J, et al. Technology for proton therapy. Cancer Journal. 2009;15:292.
  4. Devicienti S, et al. Patient positioning in the proton radiotherapy era. Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research. 2010;29:47.
  5. Proton therapy. RadiologyInfo.org. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=protonthera. Accessed Nov. 15, 2010.
  6. Found 105 studies with search of: proton therapy AND cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=proton+therapy+AND+cancer. Accessed Nov. 23, 2010.
  7. Levin WP, et al. Proton beam therapy. British Journal of Cancer. 2005;93:849.
  8. Greco C, et al. Current status of radiotherapy with proton and light ion beams. Cancer. 2007;109:1227.
  9. Schulz-Ertner D. The clinical experience with particle therapy in adults. Cancer Journal. 2009;15:306.
  10. Goitein M, et al. Should randomized clinical trials be required for proton radiotherapy? Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2008;26:175.
  11. Suit H, et al. Should positive phase III clinical trial data be required before proton beam therapy is more widely adopted? No. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2008;86:148.
MY01592 Jan. 7, 2011

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