New hope for rare cancer sufferers
Updated on 18 August 2009
Proton therapy facilities could become more widely available in hospitals, providing more accurate treatment for those with rare forms of cancer.
Proton therapy is a special type of radiotherapy which produces a beam of heavy particles, or protons, that can accurately target cancer cells without damaging other organs.
The Department of Health has now invited hospitals to submit bids to establish new treatment facilities in specialist wards.
The advantage of proton therapy over radiotherapy is that the proton beam can be very precisely targeted on the cancer and treatment delivered more accurately. Proton beam therapy has mainly been used to treat three types of cancer: malignant melanomas occurring in the retina, and two very rare cancers: chondrosarcomas, and chordomas which affect the base of the skull and the upper part of the spine.
Precise targeting and better dose distribution means that for those specific groups of patients, treatment can be provided which preserves the vital organs lying close to their tumours and which might otherwise have been effected by conventional radiotherapy.
Increasing knowledge of the risks of causing subsequent cancers and side effects such as hearing loss and reduced IQ when using conventional radiotherapy for children have made protons the best form of treatment for children with cancer.
