Are further studies needed to justify the use of proton therapy for paediatric cancers of the central nervous system? A review of current evidence.

Are further studies needed to justify the use of proton therapy for paediatric cancers of the central nervous system? A review of current evidence. Radiother Oncol. 2019 Apr;133:140-148 Authors: Huynh M, Marcu LG, Giles E, Short M, Matthews D, Bezak E Abstract Clinical implementation of proton therapy demonstrated its potential to overcome some limitations of the more traditional, photon-based radiotherapy, due to physical and radiobiological advantages of protons. However, questions concerning the long-term effects of protons on paediatric patients need outcome analysis of the reported literature in order to be answered. The current paper has analysed the available clinical trials and comparative studies (protons vs photons) for paediatric cancers of the central nervous system (CNS) analysing the reported outcomes and follow-up times in order to evaluate the safety of proton therapy for this patient group. Based on the literature analysis, proton therapy for treatment of paediatric cancers of the CNS was found to provide survival and tumour control outcomes comparable, and frequently superior, to photon therapy. Furthermore, the use of protons was shown to decrease the incidence of severe acute and late toxicities, including reduced severity of endocrine, neurological, IQ and QoL deficits. Most commonly, the reported median follow-up time was up to 5 years. Only a few studies reported promising, longer follow-up results. Consideri...
Source: Radiotherapy and Oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Radiother Oncol Source Type: research