Proton beam radiotherapy: a specialized treatment alternative

Allan F. Thornton, MD,^1,2 Markus Fitzek, MD, PhD,^1,2 Susan Klein, PhD,^1,2 Edward Dickey, BA,^1,2 MaryBeth Sullivan, BA,^1,2 Avril O’Ryan-Blair, MS,^1,2 Niek Schreuder, MS,^1,3 Christopher Allgower, PhD,^1,2 Anthony Mascia, MS,^1,2 Jonathan Farr, PhD,^1,2 and John Cameron, PhD^1,3

¹Indiana University School of Medicine, ²Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, and ³Indiana University Cyclotron Facility/Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Although not a new modality, proton therapy has long been regarded as a relatively exotic form of radiation therapy, consigned to one of two centers: Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and Loma Linda University Medical Center near Los Angeles. The cost of the accelerator and beam-line systems, along with the personnel needed to maintain the equipment, has made this highly effective and proven therapy available in only a limited number of centers. There are significant theoretic and empiric advantages of proton beam radiotherapy in terms of tumor targeting. The authors explore a number of clinical indications for this specialized treatment practice, which represents a suitable nonsurgical modality for certain tumors located near critical structures.

Commun Oncol 2007;4:599–606, 609 print e-mail full text 360 kb