[Proton therapy on locally advanced cancer]

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiation Physics
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Conventional radiotherapy often damages healthy tissues before reaching the tumor due to radiation weakening.
• Reduced radiation at the focal lesion limits the effectiveness of traditional radiotherapy.
• Certain cancers, including prostate, liver, lung, head and neck, and eye tumors, are challenging for conventional treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explain the mechanism and benefits of proton beam therapy in cancer treatment.
• To highlight the advantages of proton therapy over conventional radiotherapy.
• To present confirmed applications of proton therapy in treating specific cancers.

Main Methods:

• Proton beam therapy utilizes a Bragg peak to concentrate radiation at a specific depth.
• The proton beam is precisely targeted to the focal lesion, matching the Bragg peak's position to the tumor.
• The mechanism involves direct and indirect damage to the DNA within cancer cell nuclei.

Main Results:

• Proton beam therapy delivers concentrated radiation to cancer cells while sparing normal tissues.
• The therapy causes significant direct and indirect damage to both DNA double helixes in cancer cells.
• Effectiveness has been confirmed for prostate, liver, lung, head and neck cancers, and uveal melanoma.

Conclusions:

• Proton therapy offers a more targeted and effective approach to cancer treatment compared to traditional radiation.
• Its ability to precisely target tumors and damage cancer DNA leads to significant therapeutic potential.
• Proton therapy is a viable and effective treatment option for several challenging cancer types.