Proton Therapy

Proton Therapy

• Can proton therapy be combined with other cancer treatment methods?

  Proton therapy can be combined with other cancer treatment methods, and according to the specific situation of the patient, proton therapy can be combined with other conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy and surgery. For example, if some cancers are not completely removed after surgery, proton therapy can be used to completely eliminate the tumor. For example, if some tumors require both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, chemotherapy can be performed simultaneously with radiotherapy to achieve better clinical treatment outcomes.

  【Open】

• What types of cancer are treated with proton therapy?

  Proton knife can treat various types of cancer. Benign brain tumors include brain metastases, pituitary tumors, gliomas, craniopharyngiomas, etc. Chest tumors such as primary lung cancer, metastatic lung cancer, mediastinal tumors, etc. Abdominal tumors such as primary or metastatic liver cancer, hepatic hemangioma, pancreatic cancer, gallbladder cancer, primary or metastatic adrenal cancer, primary or metastatic renal tumor, and retroperitoneal primary or metastatic cancer. It can treat abdominal recurrence or metastasis of pelvic tumors such as prostate cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, etc. The principle of a proton knife is to use positively charged protons to continuously accelerate in an electric field, reach a certain speed and energy, and then shoot into the target. Using the Bragg peak phenomenon, a large amount of energy is released to a specific target at a specific depth, achieving the goal of destroying the target. Proton knife is a method for treating cancer and is also an advanced tumor radiotherapy method in the world. Surgery is an effective method for treating liver cancer. But some patients are not suitable for surgery, and proton knife treatment can be chosen at this time. For patients who do not have distant metastasis and are not suitable for surgical resection or postoperative recurrence, radiation therapy is recommended as the main approach for comprehensive treatment. Proton therapy is the world's advanced radiation therapy for tumors.

  【Open】

• Which tumors do proton therapy have advantages?

  肿瘤是一种损害人类健康的严重疾病，常规医治方法包括手术、化疗和放疗等，但这些医治方法关于某些肿瘤类型的医治作用并不理想，同时也会对患者的身体造成一定的损害。近几年热门的质子治疗医治是一种较特别的肿瘤医治方法，通过质子粒子射线准确照射病灶，能够损坏肿瘤细胞，到达医治的作用。1头颈部肿瘤：头颈部肿瘤是指生长在头部和颈部的肿瘤，如鼻咽癌、口腔癌、喉癌等。这些肿瘤常常生长在表浅部位，且相关于其他部位的肿瘤更加容易被质子治疗医治所治疗。2食管癌：食管癌是一种消化系统肿瘤，生长在食管内部的黏膜上。因为食管癌生长在表浅部位，因而质子治疗医治是一种很好的医治挑选，尤其是关于早期食管癌的医治作用更佳。3胰腺癌：胰腺癌是一种恶性肿瘤，生长在胰腺内部。因为胰腺方位较深，手术切除困难，因而传统的医治方法作用欠安。研讨表明，质子治疗医治能够对胰腺癌进行有效的医治。4肺部肿瘤：肺部肿瘤是指生长在肺部的肿瘤，如肺癌等。虽然肺部肿瘤一般生长在深层组织中，可是在质子治疗医治在定位准确肺部肿瘤的同时，保护肺部正常组织，从而到达医治的作用。

  【Open】

• How many years can astrocytoma patients live?

  The number of years a patient with astrocytoma can live is related to the type of tumor, treatment method, etc. The average postoperative survival time for patients with diffuse astrocytoma is 6-8 years.

  【Open】

• The effect of proton therapy on prostate cancer

  Prostate cancer is a common malignant tumor of male reproductive system. Its incidence increases with age, and its incidence rate has obvious regional differences. It is higher in Europe and America. According to reports, it is second only to lung cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men. A study published in June 2021 in Clinical Genitourinary Cancer analyzed overall survival data for local prostate cancer treated with proton therapy, traditional photon radiotherapy, and brachytherapy. The research results show that compared with other radiotherapy methods, proton therapy has better survival data and more significant prognostic effects. The specific data is that for all prostate cancer patients, the 10-year survival rate after proton therapy is 85.6%, traditional photon radiotherapy is only 60.1%, and close range radiotherapy is 74%. Proton therapy for prostate cancer: Comparison of survival data among three radiotherapy methods. According to data from QST Hospital in Japan, the overall 5-year survival rate of prostate cancer after proton therapy is 95.8%, and the 10-year survival rate is 85%; The treatment of high-risk prostate cancer has a more significant effect, with a 5-year non recurrence rate of 90.5% and a 5-year survival rate of 95%.

  【Open】

• How about the effect of proton therapy on pancreatic cancer?

  In the 1950s, proton therapy began to be applied to the treatment of tumors. With the accumulation of clinical research, proton therapy entered hospitals from the laboratory and gradually became one of the important radiation therapy methods. The pancreas is located in the middle of the abdomen, surrounded by several important organs, including the liver, kidneys, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Due to this critical location and the radiation sensitivity of these organs, it is necessary to limit the radiation dose to these organs to prevent nausea, vomiting, and maintain organ function. Due to these reasons, proton therapy is highly applicable in order to provide therapeutic doses for tumors and limit the dose to these surrounding organs. Proton therapy is effective for pancreatic cancer. Proton therapy is a relatively advanced radiotherapy method that can treat various types of lung cancer or other cancers, equivalent to radiotherapy. Mainly using protons, all particle beams are concentrated at the affected site through the higher energy of the particle beam, which can fully leverage its advantages and kill cancer cells. Inhibiting the number and increment of cancer cells, causing cancer cell degeneration, necrosis, and elimination of lesions, achieving cancer treatment effects. Pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat and has a high degree of malignancy, and most patients are already in advanced or extensive metastasis when diagnosed. More than 80% of pancreatic cancer patients cannot receive surgical treatment. At present, chemotherapy is the main treatment for inoperable pancreatic cancer patients. In addition, radiotherapy is also one of the important treatment methods. Postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy can prolong the survival period of patients, which is one of the effective means of postoperative adjuvant treatment for pancreatic cancer. Proton therapy for pancreatic cancer is safer and more effective than traditional radiotherapy. Proton therapy can concentrate most of the radiation on the tumor site, avoiding healthy tissues around the tumor, thereby reducing treatment related side effects. At the same time, due to the high dose of radiation emitted by protons towards the tumor site, it can kill cancer cells as much as possible. The pancreas is surrounded by normal tissues that are sensitive to radiation, such as the duodenum, stomach, jejunum, liver, and kidneys. Proton therapy is applied to unresectable pancreatic cancer. Compared to IMRT, proton therapy reduces radiation exposure to the kidneys, liver, and spinal cord, as well as the stomach, duodenum, and small intestine.

  【Open】

• Can breast cancer be treated with proton?

  Breast conserving therapy is a combination of breast conserving surgery (partial mastectomy) and postoperative radiotherapy, targeted drugs, etc. The former preserves the breast and only removes the lesion tissue and its surrounding area. However, even if the lesion has been removed, there may still be some invisible cancer cells remaining, causing local recurrence. Therefore, through the latter, the entire remaining breast is irradiated to prevent postoperative recurrence. Unlike traditional radiotherapy, proton therapy can release a large amount of energy at the lesion, ensuring that the tumor receives sufficient dose of radiation, improving the local control rate of the tumor. At the same time, reducing energy irradiation in non lesion areas greatly reduces the damage of radiotherapy to healthy tissues. Especially for tumors around important organs, it can effectively protect the functions of important organs such as the heart, eyes, spinal cord, etc., thereby significantly improving the quality of life of patients. Some studies have shown that about 40% of breast cancer patients receiving proton therapy have no obvious discomfort after treatment, such as breast pain and vomiting. And proton radiotherapy can effectively reduce the radiation damage to the heart when treating patients with breast cancer after surgery, especially those with left breast cancer.

  【Open】

• Proton therapy for sensory neuroblastoma

  Olfactory neuroblastoma, also known as sensory neuroblastoma, is extremely rare in clinical practice. However, due to the high sensitivity of olfactory neuroblastoma to radiation therapy and its susceptibility to in situ recurrence, a comprehensive treatment plan combining surgery with radiation therapy and chemotherapy depending on the situation has become the preferred choice for many olfactory neuroblastomas. However, the location of olfactory neuroblastoma is unique, and traditional radiation therapy can lead to serious complications such as decreased vision or even blindness, radiation-induced brain necrosis, radiation-induced bone damage, etc. The emergence of proton therapy has broken the difficulties faced by radiotherapy for olfactory neuroblastoma. Proton therapy, as a precise radiation technique, can significantly improve the prognosis of patients while reducing the complications caused by radiotherapy. Unlike traditional radiotherapy, proton therapy converts proton nuclei into proton lines. After the proton lines are irradiated on the patient's body, they release energy at the lesion before stopping, forming a dose distribution called the Bragg peak (radiation dose). This can achieve treatment that focuses on the release of a large amount of radiation energy from the tumor itself. Due to its ability to accurately target lesions and effectively kill cancer cells, proton therapy has become an important radiation therapy method for olfactory neuroblastoma with minimal impact on surrounding healthy tissues

  【Open】