New, Effective Treatment Using Proton Irradiation for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Abstract

In 34 hepatocellular carcinoma patients (44 lesions), proton irradiation was performed and assessed. Proton irradiation was effective for the nodular HCCin terms of tumor size reduction and histology and almost 100%local tumor control was obtained during the observation period of at least 2 years, which is still undergoing up to 4 years. This therapy is safe and has the merit of excellent QOL during the treatment without any complaints. Further, this method is feasible for patients ofdeepseated tumors, and for those with serious complications. Due to the excellent local tumor control, the determining factor for the survival is not affected by the proton irradiation but by the associated complications such as liver cirrhosis. Background

Radiation Techniques in Neuro-Oncology

“…With prices exceeding $100 million per unit, the cost-benefit ratio remains to be accurately described; efficacy data are still maturing. Diseases for which benefits have been seen with charged particles include uveal melanomas, 51 optic pathway gliomas, 52 skull-based tumors, 53 pituitary adenomas, 54 acoustic neuromas, 55 nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses, 56,57 spinal cord tumors, 58,59 prostate cancer, 60,61 lung cancer, [62][63][64][65] gastrointestinal malignancies, [66][67][68] and pediatric cancers. 69 …”

Advanced-Technology Radiation Therapy in the Management of Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas

“…Although the beam modulation to spread out the Bragg peaks increases the entrance dose, the proton dose distribution is still characterized by a lower-dose region in normal tissue proximal to the tumor, a uniform high-dose region in the tumor, and zero dose beyond the tumor (Fig 1). [35][36][37] The major emphasis for proton therapy clinical research initially was dose escalation for tumors for which local control with conventional RT was poor, 38 including base of skull and spine tumors, 10 locally advanced prostate cancer, 39 hepatocellular carcinoma, 40 and non-small-cell lung cancer. 41 The development of hospital-based cyclotrons with higher energy beams capable of reaching deep-seated tumors (up to approximately 30 cm with a 235 MeV beam), field sizes comparable to linear accelerators, and rotational gantries has greatly facilitated proton RT.…”

Late effects from hadron therapy

“…Tumors in numerous additional organs of the body have been treated with protons or helium ions for evaluation of tolerance and therapeutic efficacy, including liver [7,73,74], stomach [62,100], esophagus [63], lung [101], prostate [102,104], pancreas and biliary duct [122] and gynecologic sites [6].…”