Expected clinical benefits and challenges of particle therapy for paediatric tumours

Proton therapy for non-ocular tumours in children is a relatively new development in Europe. Main arguments for proton therapy are the reduced risk for secondary cancers as well as a more precise sparing of organs at risk (OAR).Due to interdisciplinary advances more children survive their childhood cancer and have to deal with late effects of their primary cancer treatment.Children are by about a factor of ten more sensitive to radiation-induced malignancies than adults. Due to a smaller body volume, the scattering is more significant than in the (larger) body of an adult.
Source: Physica Medica: European Journal of Medical Physics - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: research