Proton beam therapy significantly lowers risk of side effects, reveals major study - Rutherford Cancer Centres

Treatments

Proton Beam Therapy

Proton beam therapy is an advanced form of external radiotherapy that uses high-energy proton beams instead of photon x-ray beams or electrons. Carefully measured doses of protons are delivered to the precise area needing treatment, using the latest IBA ProteusONE technology. This ensures that the delivery of proton beam therapy is highly accurate and prevents the risk of radiation reaching surrounding healthy tissue.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is used to kill and destroy cancer cells. It utilises radiation in the form of high-energy x-rays, known as photons, to kill and damage the cancerous cells and prevent their growth and reproduction. It can be used as a non-surgical option to treat cancer, and it can also be used to shrink a tumour or in combination with other treatments.

Chemotherapy

We provide a chemotherapy treatment service that offers you both choice and flexibility. Chemotherapy is the use of cytotoxic (anti-cancer) drugs to destroy cancer cells in the body by disrupting the cancer cells and preventing them from growing and dividing.

Videos

Rutherford Cancer Centre Thames Valley – Look around our first centre in Reading

Rutherford Cancer Centre North East – Look around our first centre in the North East

Rutherford Cancer Centre North East – Building the UK’s second high energy proton therapy centre

Rutherford Cancer Centre South Wales – Bringing proton therapy to the UK

News & Press

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update

20/03/2020

Training oncologists to meet rising demand of proton beam therapy

04/02/2020

Rutherford Cancer Centre awarded Macmillan Quality Environment Mark

03/02/2020

Proton Beam Therapy Given Boost by Landmark Research

07/01/2020

Rutherford Cancer Centre announces new collaboration to help prostate cancer patients in the North East

28/10/2019

© Rutherford Health plc

Site by i3MEDIA

Get in Touch or call 0800 210 0402

Home News & Events News Proton beam therapy significantly lowers risk of side effects, reveals major study

Share

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 (PBT) 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 for PBT and will begin treatment within weeks. 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.

The Rutherford Cancer Centres already have a relationship with the University of Pennsylvania, which advises the centres on patient screening for proton beam therapy.

Our Trusted Healthcare Partners