can maintain their current quality of life
during and after treatment,” Dr. Lee said,
emphasizing the benefits of proton therapy
as a treatment modality.
Types of Cancer Targeted by
Proton Therapy
Proton therapy has effectively treated a
wide variety of cancers (whether small or
large) in virtually every part of the body.
As part of a multidisciplinary treatment
regimen, proton therapy has been shown
in studies to increase a patient’s ability
to receive other concurrent or sequential
therapies, such as chemotherapy and/
or surgery. Proton therapy may also treat
tumors in sensitive areas where conventional
therapy may not be the best option.
Proton therapy may be used to treat virtually
any tumor that is treated with standard
radiation, but it is particularly applicable for
treating certain cancers, including:
Brain and Spine 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 or spine. While the proton beam
is being delivered, it can also be designed
to conform to the shape, size, and depth
of tumors, limiting excess radiation near
14 DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL • October 2021
surrounding areas of the body.
The accuracy of proton therapy makes it
particularly useful in treating:
• Tumors near sensitive areas of the
brain, skull base, or spine
• Patients who require postoperative
radiation therapy
• Patients who have recurrent brain
tumors following treatment
• Select patients, including those with
brain metastases, who may be candidates
for stereotactic proton therapy
Patients with benign tumors
“Preserving adjacent tissue is of extreme
importance,” Dr. Lee noted. “Once
the proton beam enters the body at the
targeted tumor, less radiation is delivered
before and after the tumor. After the proton
beam hits the tumor, little to no radiation
is delivered to nearby tissue.”
Breast Cancers
For cancers of this sensitive area of
the body near several vital organs, proton
therapy can deliver high doses of radiation
to destroy cancerous cells while preserving
other nearby tissue. This precise treatment
minimizes exposure to the heart, lungs,
and healthy tissue near the breast and
can be used for breast cancer patients
even following lumpectomy or mastectomy.
Proton therapy may also be used in select
cases in which cancer has recurred following
surgery and/or radiation or has spread
to other parts of the body. We routinely
treat breast cancer patients that require
radiation to their breast or chest wall as
well as the adjacent lymph nodes. Proton
therapy allows us to comprehensively treat
these cases while minimizing exposure to
the underlying heart, lungs, and brachial
plexus
Childhood Cancers
While childhood cancers are rare – accounting
for less than 1% of all cancer
diagnoses – they remain the most common
cause of disease-related deaths among
children outside the newborn period,
according to the American Society of Clinical
Oncology. Types of childhood cancer
treated with proton therapy include brain
and spine tumors, chordoma, craniopharyngioma,
ependymoma, Ewing sarcoma,
germinoma and other germ cell tumors,
lymphoma, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma,
rhabdomyosarcoma, and sarcomas.
“A cancer diagnosis may be one of the
most difficult challenges a person will
face, and this point is particularly relevant
for young patients and their families,” Dr.
Lee said. “We are uniquely positioned to
treat children with cancer and provide the
support needed for their families as they
Photo Texas Center for Proton Therapy