Proton Beam Therapy For Brain Cancer

These are areas where it is important to do as little damage to surrounding healthy cells as possible.

Proton beam therapy for brain cancer.

Proton therapy also called proton beam therapy is a kind of particle therapy or radiation therapy. That finding comes from a study that used existing patient data to compare the two types of radiation. Proton therapy for brain tumors. If your treatment calls for radiation you are far from alone.

Traditional radiation delivers x rays or beams of photons to the tumor and beyond it. The university of florida offers proton therapy for brain cancer treatment. Choices include surgery chemotherapy traditional radiation and proton beam therapy. Benefits of proton therapy for brain cancer.

It directs proton beams at cancer cells with precision. You may receive one or a combination depending on your needs. Proton therapy for lung cancer may be used for early stage cancers that cannot be treated with surgery or for a recurrence when conventional radiation therapy has already been given. More than half of all people with cancer receive radiation therapy.

Proton beam therapy is only suitable for certain types of cancer. The reason is simple. Limit excess radiation near surrounding areas of. Proton therapy for brain tumors is generally recommended because of the tumor s proximity to delicate and vitally important normal tissues and structures.

Because doctors can better control where proton therapy releases its highest concentration of energy proton therapy is believed to affect less healthy tissue and have fewer side effects than traditional radiation therapy. Be designed to conform to the shape size and depth of tumors. During treatment a narrow proton beam is guided to focus the highest energy of the beam at the location of the tumor in the brain. Proton therapy can cause side effects as the cancer cells die or when the energy from the proton beam damages healthy tissue.

This includes some very rare types and cancers close to vital or delicate parts of the body. A type of radiation treatment called proton beam radiation therapy may be safer and just as effective as traditional radiation therapy for adults with advanced cancer.