Proton Partners International: Proton Beam Therapy Significantly Lowers Risk of Side Effects, Reveals Major Study

A groundbreaking study has revealed that cancer patients are at
significantly lower risk of experiencing unwanted side effects when
treated with proton beam therapy compared with conventional radiation
therapy.

The study by the University of Pennsylvania - the first of its kind -
evaluated data on 1,483 patients, 391 of whom received proton beam
therapy and 1,092 who received photon (conventional radiation)
treatment. Careful analysis of both patient groups revealed that the
risk of side effects from toxicity to the body was two-thirds lower for
proton beam therapy patients compared to conventional radiation
therapies. Researchers leading the study also highlighted that overall
survival rates were similar in both groups, indicating the reduced
toxicity with proton beam therapy did not come at the cost of
effectiveness.

Professor Karol Sikora, chief medical officer of Proton Partners
International which operates the Rutherford Cancer Centres, the largest
network of proton beam therapy facilities in the UK and the world’s
leading developer of proton therapy services, said: “This is a very
significant study that adds to the growing body of evidence on the
benefits of proton beam therapy. There has been a tremendous
breakthrough in the UK over the past year in the provision of PBT
facilities.

“At our own centres we have seen first-hand patients coming in for
treatment with very little disruption to their daily lives. The most
striking aspect about the treatment of these patients is how well they
feel during and after treatment and the reduction in side effects gives
them confidence that their cancer can be treated successfully. The more
research data we have on PBT the better and this study is a milestone
moment. Although PBT is not a panacea for all cancers, it can be very
effective while being less toxic and this is proving an attractive form
of treatment for patients.”

Unlike conventional radiotherapy which delivers X-ray beams to attack a
tumour site and leaves radiation deposits in surrounding tissues, proton
beam therapy delivers heavily charged protons in a more targeted manner
that can be controlled to stop at a defined point in the body, thereby
reducing damage to peripheral tissue and organs.

The study comes as the UK’s third proton beam therapy facility was
opened in Northumberland this week; the Rutherford Cancer Centre North
East.

The Northumberland centre has started assessing patients to begin PBT
treatment. Its sister centre, in Newport, South Wales, was the first to
treat patients with proton beam therapy in the UK, with another centre
in Reading due to start treating patients with PBT later this year.

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