Onkológia 5/2015

Prothon therapy: still open questions

The aim of technology advances in radiotherapy is to improve local and regional disease control, survival and treatment effects. It is achieved by dose escalation or by more targeted therapy. Highly sophisticated photon technology is limited by physical principles of photon energy deposition. Heavy charged particles, represented by protons, are assumed to achieve similar biological effect with the advantage of more localized deposition of energy and therefore, presumed more localized damage. The rise in proton therapy availability seems to attest the attractiveness of the concept. Does this situation imply there is better mean of treatment for our patients? This work provides critical view answering potential questions of physicians and patients exposed to equivocal information. It seems, much effort will be needed to prove superiority of proton therapy in certain situations and to define the role in future.

Keywords: technology, proton therapy, clinical studies.