Role of proton therapy in the treatment of cancer

Abstract

Conventional radiation therapy directs photons (X-rays) and electrons at tumours with the intent of eradicating the neoplastic tissue while preserving adjacent normal tissue. Radiationinduced damage to healthy tissue and second malignancies are always a concern. Proton beam radiotherapy, one form of charged particle therapy, allows for excellent dose distributions, with the added benefit of no exit dose. These character istics make this form of radiotherapy an excellent choice for the treatment of tumours located next to critical structures. Although proton therapy is clearly capable of providing superior dose distributions as compared with photons, there are still some questions remain unanswered. Current evidence provides a limited indication for PBT. Actual clinical studies are needed to validate the virtual clinical data. This review focuses specifically on the clinical outcomes and adverse events with charged particle radiation therapy compared with other treatments in patients with cancer. Standart foton radyoterapisi ile cevre normal dokular korunur