Proton Beam Therapy

Guiding the reader through the existing evidence supporting proton beam therapy in an increasing number of cancer cases, this survey shows why this revolutionary treatment, with its more accurate targeting, is generating so much excitement in medicine.

Proton beam therapy is an emerging technology with promise of revolutionizing the treatment of cancer. While nearly half of all patients diagnosed with cancer in the US receive radiation therapy, the majority is delivered via electron accelerators, where photons are used to irradiate cancerous tissue. Because of the physical properties of photon beams, photons may deposit energy along their entire path length through the body. On the other hand, a proton beam directed at a tumor travels in a straight trajectory towards its target, gives off most of its energy at a defined depth called the Bragg peak, and then stops. While photons often deposit more energy within the healthy tissues of the body than within the cancer itself, protons can deposit most of their cancer-killing energy within the area of the tumor. As a result, in the properly selected patients, proton beam therapy has the ability to improve cure rates by increasing the dose delivered to the tumor and simultaneously reduceside-effects by decreasing the dose to surrounding tissue. The benefits of proton beam therapy in delivering a lethal hit to the target while sparing surrounding normal tissues from radiation are becoming applicable to an increasing number of patients and a growing list of conditions. In this book, the author will guide the reader through existing evidence supporting proton beam therapy for pediatric cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, spinal tumors, and several other conditions. The book will discuss which conditions are suitable for treatment with proton beam therapy, how the treatment is delivered, and the current data supporting its use.

Revolutionary cancer treatment Organized by cancer type Includes dicussion of proton therapy basics and valuable illustrations

Autorentext
Santosh V. Yajnik, MD, is Section Chief of Radiation Oncology at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago and staff radiation oncologist at CDH Proton Center outside of Chicago. Dr. Yajnik attended medical school at the University of Chicago and completed his residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Klappentext

While radiation therapy is a mainstay of cancer treatment, traditional linear accelerators mainly use photons to irradiate cancerous tissue. Photons deposit much more energy in the surrounding normal tissue than protons. Proton beam therapy is a revolutionary alternative that deposits most of its cancer-killing energy within the area of the tumor, thereby potentially improving cure rates and reducing side effects in properly selected patients. Proton Beam Therapy: How Protons Are Revolutionizing Cancer Treatment guides the reader through existing evidence supporting proton beam therapy for an increasing number of patients and conditions, including pediatric, prostate, and lung cancer, mediastinal tumors, skull base tumors, conditions of the eye, and sarcomas.

Inhalt

An introduction to proton beam therapy.- Comparative treatment plans.- Proton beam therapy for pediatric conditions.- Proton beam therapy for prostate cancer.- Proton beam therapy for lung cancer.- Proton beam therapy for mediastinal tumors.- Proton beam therapy for the central nervous system.- Proton beam therapy for skull base tumors.- Proton beam therapy for conditions of the eye.- Proton beam therapy for sarcomas.