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Differences from traditional radiation: Why can proton therapy protect healthy tissue?
In the field of disease treatment, proton therapy is receiving more and more attention as an advanced particle therapy. It uses proton beams to irradiate tumor tissue and has shown remarkable results in cancer treatment. The main advantage of proton therapy is its ability to concentrate the radiation dose within the tumor, while significantly reducing radiation damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Proton therapy is characterized by its very high precision and ability to conform to the shape of tumors, which makes it superior to conventional radiation therapy in many clinical situations.
When doctors need to evaluate whether to use proton therapy rather than photon radiation therapy, they often consider delivering a higher dose of radiation precisely to the tumor while greatly reducing radiation damage to surrounding organs. The American Society for Radiation Oncology's model policy states that proton therapy is a reasonable option if normal tissue cannot be effectively protected during photon radiation therapy and proton therapy provides a benefit.
How proton therapy works
During proton therapy, medical staff use a particle accelerator to aim a proton beam directly at the tumor. These charged particles can effectively prevent cell regeneration while damaging cell DNA, thereby destroying tumors. Because cancer cells divide quickly and have limited self-repair capabilities, the impact of attacks on DNA is particularly significant.
The radiation dose distribution characteristics of proton therapy enable it to effectively treat tumors while protecting healthy tissue.
Comparison of proton therapy and traditional radiation therapy
Traditional photon radiation therapy uses X-rays or gamma rays. These radiations generally penetrate tissues and cause damage to surrounding normal tissues in the process. Protons, on the other hand, only release most of their energy in the last few millimeters of radiotherapy, which is called the "Bragg peak." This property helps reduce radiation dose to healthy tissue, thereby reducing side effects.
Proton therapy uses its unique energy release pattern to maximize focus on tumors and minimize the radiation dose to healthy tissue.
Application scope of proton therapy
Proton therapy has a wide range of applications, including but not limited to eye tumors, head and neck tumors, childhood cancers, and prostate cancer. Among them, for childhood cancer patients, because they are more susceptible to long-term side effects, proton therapy provides better protection and reduces damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
For eye tumors, proton therapy is called the "gold standard" because it can effectively treat tumors while protecting the sensitive structures of the eye.
The future prospects of proton therapy
With the advancement of technology and the continuous accumulation of clinical data, the use of proton therapy is becoming more and more widespread. According to the latest statistics, there are currently 41 proton therapy centers in the world, with the United States as the largest market, and more and more medical institutions are beginning to introduce proton therapy systems.
In future treatments, proton therapy has the potential to become a new standard for a wider range of tumor treatments and improve patients' quality of life.
However, while proton therapy has many advantages, further research is needed to determine its effectiveness in different types of cancer. With the investment of resources and further development of technology, to what extent can proton therapy be popularized?
