Proton therapy for skull-base tumors

Radiation treatment for brain tumors at the base of the skull is especially delicate, given the proximity to the brain and brainstem, optic and cranial nerves, and other vital tissues. Proton therapy can precisely target these skull-base tumors while minimally exposing any of the adjacent areas to radiation.

Skull base tumors we treat with proton radiation therapy include

Benign

• Acoustic neuromas (also called vestibular schwannomas)
• Adenoid cystic carcinoma
• Glomus tumors
• Meningiomas
• Neuromas (trigeminal neuromas, vagal schwannomas)
• Neurofibromas
• Pituitary adenoma

Cancerous

• Carcinoid tumors
• Carcinomas
• Chondrosarcomas
• Chordomas
• Esthesioblastomas
• Mucosal melanomas
• Sarcomas

Most proton centers use “volumetric” beams that deliver a fixed quantity of energy to the entire tumor. But the pencil beam scanning technology at the New York Proton Center delivers “intensity-modulated proton therapy,” or IMPT.

Widely considered the most advanced form of proton therapy, IMPT can target different parts of the tumor with different radiation dose levels based on the prescription and tumor’s exact location, while better protecting the surrounding normal tissues from irradiation. That’s particularly valuable when treating the most complicated tumors, those residing in the fissures of the head, neck and skull base.