Proton Beam Therapy For Glioblastoma

It is used to help reduce the risk of long term side effects that can sometimes develop after standard radiotherapy.

Proton beam therapy for glioblastoma.

Proton beam therapy is a type of external beam radiotherapy. A ground breaking clinical trial is treating glioblastoma with intensity modulated proton therapy impt. Twenty three of 81 gbm patients who met the eligible criteria and consented to the protocol were treated with x ray radiation therapy 50 4 gy in 28 fractions in t2 high areas and proton beam therapy 46 2 gye in 28 fractions in gadolinium enhanced volumes 6 hours after x ray radiation therapy concurrent with nimustine. There are also other new discoveries in adult and childhood brain cancer research and treatment.

Proton therapy provides pinpoint focusing of the radiation beam to the tumor. Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells. These charged particles damage the dna of cells ultimately killing them by stopping their reproduction and thereby eliminating the tumor. Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the toughest brain tumors to treat and also is one of the most aggressive.

Cancerous cells are particularly vulnerable to attacks on dna. As a result doctors often reduce the optimal x ray radiation dose required to kill cancer cells. Imrt uses multiple x ray beams made of photons at different angles to treat the area where the tumor was removed and any tumor left. Radiation therapy is the same for any brain tumor.

Proton beam therapy offers an alternative. Proton beam therapy is only suitable for a small number of people. Unfortunately radiation affects both healthy and cancerous cells. This lessens the chance of damage to surrounding normal brain tissue.

So the doctor using conventional radiation therapy x rays has to balance killing cancer cells with preserving healthy ones. Proton therapy is a type of radiation often used for patients with glioblastoma.