How Proton Therapy Is Transforming Treatment for Recurrent Cancer
There is a long-held belief that you can never receive radiation twice to the same location. However, that is not always true if the radiation treatment involves proton therapy, an advanced form of radiation therapy that can more safely treat recurrent cancers.
Reirradiation of a recurrent tumor is both safer and highly effective with proton therapy. This is true for nearly all types of tumors, including prostate, head and neck, brain, breast, gastrointestinal and lung cancers. With proton therapy, we can treat an area that received prior radiation or an area that is in the vicinity of that original treatment area with extreme precision and with a higher, more effective dose than if using photon radiation.
Focused Treatment, Fewer Side Effects
Protons have special properties that allow them to spare healthy tissues near the previously treated area from potentially damaging radiation, which means fewer side-effects. And, unlike traditional photon (x-ray) radiation, proton particles deposit nearly all of their energy in the targeted tumor. There is virtually no “exit dose” into healthy tissues.
NYPC Radiation Oncologist Irini Yacoub, MD, whose expertise includes treatment of prostate cancer, head and neck cancers, and central nervous system tumors, says that reirradiation with protons can offer patients the potential for a cure. Using the example of prostate cancer, she explains that proton reirradiation may also be an option for men with limited metastatic disease such as spread to lymph nodes or hip bones, leading to fewer complications and potentially delaying the need for systemic therapy.
In addition, some men receiving treatment for recurrent prostate cancer may be candidates for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) proton therapy, which is delivered in five sessions over two weeks.
At the New York Proton Center, we treat more patients for recurrent cancer than any other proton center in the world. Learn more about the benefits of treating recurrent cancers with proton therapy.
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