Cancer Proton Center - Warrenville, IL.
Posted by Paul Keenon on Jan 12, 2017
Benefits of Proton Therapy
Both standard radiation therapy and proton therapy treat tumors by preventing cancer cells from dividing and growing. The difference between the two is that protons can precisely deliver the dose to the tumor, allowing patients to receive highly targeted, treatment, and a lower risk of damage to healthy tissue near the tumor.1
What are the Differences between Proton Therapy and Standard Radiation?
Proton therapy and X-ray therapy both kill cancer cells by preventing them from dividing and growing. The biggest difference is that proton therapy delivers less dose to healthy tissue than X-rays because proton therapy can be precisely controlled.
In standard radiation therapy treatments, energy is released continuously as X-rays move through the body. This means healthy tissue along their path, in front of and behind the tumor, can receive unintended radiation. Depending on the location of the tumor, vital organs such as the brain, heart or spine can be affected.
In proton therapy treatments, less energy is released as the protons enter the body and all of the remaining energy is deposited at the treatment site, reducing the amount of healthy tissue that receives dose.
Study Compares Effects of X-ray Radiation with Proton Therapy
A study analyzed patients treated with X-ray radiation and compared them with patients treated with proton therapy. Of the patients treated with X-ray radiation, 12.8% developed secondary cancers caused by treatment, while only 6.4% of the proton therapy patients developed secondary cancers.