Proton Therapy

Proton therapy precisely targets cancer, offering new hope for recovery, survival, and improved quality of life. The Penn Medicine | Virtua Health Proton Therapy Center brings this advanced treatment close to home.

What is Proton Therapy Treatment?

Proton therapy is a painless, noninvasive treatment that uses a beam of high-energy protons to destroy cancer cells. Doctors can finely control the beam, so it precisely targets the cancer and then stops, preventing radiation from moving through healthy tissue and surrounding organs.

Proton therapy is used to treat patients with cancer tumors located near highly sensitive areas or tumors that cannot be completely removed by surgery. 

What Types of Cancer Can Be Treated with Proton Therapy Treatment?

Cancer types that may be treated with proton therapy include:

• Brain
• Breast
• Gastrointestinal (anal, colon, esophageal, liver, pancreatic, rectal)
• Gynecologic (cervical)
• Head and neck
• Kidney
• Liver
• Lung
• Lymphoma
• Mesothelioma
• Oropharyngeal (throat)
• Prostate
• Sarcomas
• Spine
  

Targeting Cancer While Sparing Healthy Tissue

Proton therapy is a type of radiation therapy that uses a high-energy radiation beam to destroy cancer cells. Protons are positively charged particles within an atom, which are accelerated to two-thirds the speed of light—about 450 million miles per hour. Unlike traditional (photon) radiation therapy, protons have a unique stopping power. This means they can target the tumor with greater precision and accuracy, minimizing damage to surrounding organs and tissue.

This is done through pencil-beam scanning (also called spot scanning). Your medical team finely controls the millimeters-wide proton beam to deliver intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT)—effectively “painting” the radiation dose in three dimensions, layer by layer, so that it conforms to the specific shape and size of the tumor. 

Because healthy tissue is spared, proton therapy results in milder side effects. This advanced form of therapy offers new potential for recovery, survival, and an improved quality of life.

Benefits of Proton Therapy

Proton therapy has the ability to deliver a maximum amount of radiation with pinpoint accuracy without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. It is often used in the treatment of cancers that have not spread (not metastatic) or tumors near sensitive areas such as the brain and spine. 

What are the Benefits of Proton Therapy Treatment? 

• Precision—Proton therapy has the ability to target with such pinpoint precision that it can deliver higher doses of radiation to the tumor while significantly reducing exposure to nearby healthy tissues. As a result, people who undergo proton therapy may have milder side effects compared to other radiation treatments.
• Power—Targeting is so precise, physicians can treat tumors with higher doses of radiation than other methods.
• No pain—Proton therapy treatments are noninvasive and painless.
• Milder side effects—Compared with other therapies, protons have the potential to produce less side effects, allowing you to feel better and recover faster from treatment.
• Ability to treat recurrent cancer—Proton therapy is an option to treat recurrent cancers that have been previously treated with other radiation therapies.
• Can be combined with other cancer treatments—Depending on your condition and type of cancer, proton therapy may be used in conjunction with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or surgery.

What to Expect with Proton Therapy

Your cancer team provides you with compassionate, coordinated care throughout the evaluation and treatment process, so you can focus on getting and staying well. You will also have access to a team of experts to support your physical and emotional needs during treatment, including oncology social workers, therapists, dietitians, and nurse navigators. 

Your treatment plan may include proton therapy or traditional photon radiation, or a combination of treatments. If proton therapy is recommended, a series of planning sessions will help your team develop your individualized cancer treatment plan.

Evaluation: Your radiation oncologist will review your medical records, diagnostic images (such as an MRI and CT scans), perform a physical exam, and recommend additional tests, if needed. We’ll determine the best radiation treatment for you and discuss its risks and benefits, including potential side effects and how to manage them. 

Planning your treatment: Your first session is a practice run without radiation, also called a simulation. Through CT scans, we will map the exact area of your body to be treated. The team will position you, and if needed, utilize immobilization devices such as foam sponges and molds to help hold you still and ensure that you are in the same position for each treatment. Depending on the area being treated, you also may receive small marks on your skin.

Treatment: Treatments typically begin one to two weeks after the CT simulation. Treatments are painless and are normally delivered five days a week, Monday through Friday, over several weeks. Proton therapy treatments typically take about 30 minutes, depending on the area of the body. You will also meet with your doctor and nurse once a week to assess and manage any side effects, such as skin sensitivity.

When your treatment ends: On your last day of treatment, we invite you to “ring the bell” in celebration of your achievement. Your radiation oncologist also will review your survivorship care plan, which includes recommendations for follow-up care and resources to help you to maintain your health.