Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug;24(8):988-1003.
doi: 10.1007/s11864-023-01097-w. Epub 2023 May 22.

Critical Appraisal of Proton Therapy for Patients with Central Nervous System (CNS) Malignancies

Jennifer Kahan  1 , Constanza Martinez  1 , Christina Tsien  2
Affiliations
Review

Critical Appraisal of Proton Therapy for Patients with Central Nervous System (CNS) Malignancies

Jennifer Kahan et al. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

As more hospital-based proton treatment centres become operational, the indications for proton beam therapy (PBT) are being evaluated. Recent advances in PBT technology are expanding the indications for the use of protons in the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) tumours. Prospective trials that assess the late toxicity of different radiation therapy (RT) techniques are needed to confirm any expected reduction in long-term side effects with PBT. The ASTRO Model Policy on proton beam therapy currently supports the reasonable use of protons in the treatment of specific CNS tumour types. Specifically, PBT plays a key role in the management of CNS tumours where anatomy, extent of disease or previous treatment cannot be satisfactorily addressed with conventional RT. As the availability of PBT rises around the world, the number of patients with CNS disease treated with PBT will continue to grow.

Keywords: Central nervous system malignancies; Pencil beam; Proton beam therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

References and Recommended Reading

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
    1. Grosshans DR, Mohan R, Gondi V, Shih HA, Mahajan A, Brown PD. The role of image-guided intensity modulated proton therapy in glioma. Neuro Oncol. 2017;19(suppl_2):ii30-ii7.
    1. Paganetti H, Beltran C, Both S, Dong L, Flanz J, Furutani K, et al. Roadmap: proton therapy physics and biology. Phys Med Biol. 2021;66(5). Discussion of the current state and future directions to improve proton treatment delivery by addressing treatment planning and delivery, imaging and patient selection.
    1. Giovannini G, Bohlen T, Cabal G, Bauer J, Tessonnier T, Frey K, et al. Variable RBE in proton therapy: comparison of different model predictions and their influence on clinical-like scenarios. Radiat Oncol. 2016;11:68. Proton therapy relative biologic effectiveness and their clinical impact.
    1. Oden J, Toma-Dasu I, Witt Nystrom P, Traneus E, Dasu A. Spatial correlation of linear energy transfer and relative biological effectiveness with suspected treatment-related toxicities following proton therapy for intracranial tumors. Med Phys. 2020;47(2):342-51. Proton therapy relative biologic effectiveness and associated treatment toxicities.
    1. Paganetti H. Mechanisms and review of clinical evidence of variations in relative biological effectiveness in proton therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2022;112(1):222–36. - PubMed - DOI

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources