Proton Beam Therapy For Glioblastoma

So the doctor using conventional radiation therapy x rays has to balance killing cancer cells with preserving healthy ones.

Proton beam therapy for glioblastoma.

Proton therapy provides pinpoint focusing of the radiation beam to the tumor. These charged particles damage the dna of cells ultimately killing them by stopping their reproduction and thereby eliminating the tumor. Radiation therapy is the same for any brain tumor. It is used to help reduce the risk of long term side effects that can sometimes develop after standard radiotherapy.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells. Most patients undergoing radiation therapy for glioblastoma receive photon based radiation therapy such as intensity modulated radiotherapy imrt. Proton beam therapy is a type of external beam radiotherapy. Cancerous cells are particularly vulnerable to attacks on dna.

Imrt uses multiple x ray beams made of photons at different angles to treat the area where the tumor was removed and any tumor left. Twenty three of 81 gbm patients who met the eligible criteria and consented to the protocol were treated with x ray radiation therapy 50 4 gy in 28 fractions in t2 high areas and proton beam therapy 46 2 gye in 28 fractions in gadolinium enhanced volumes 6 hours after x ray radiation therapy concurrent with nimustine. Twenty three of 81 gbm patients who met the eligible criteria and consented to the protocol were treated with x ray radiation therapy 50 4 gy in 28 fractions in t2 high areas and proton beam therapy 46 2 gye in 28 fractions in gadolinium enhanced volumes 6 hours after x ray radiation therapy concurrent with nimustine hydrochloride or temozolomide. Unfortunately radiation affects both healthy and cancerous cells.

Proton beam therapy is only suitable for a small number of people. Proton beam therapy offers an alternative. Proton therapy is a type of external beam radiotherapy that uses ionizing radiation in proton therapy medical personnel use a particle accelerator to target a tumor with a beam of protons. There are also other new discoveries in adult and childhood brain cancer research and treatment.

A ground breaking clinical trial is treating glioblastoma with intensity modulated proton therapy impt. Proton therapy is a type of radiation often used for patients with glioblastoma.