Where, why and what is Proton Therapy

Dr. Robert R. Wilson, a physicist who had worked on developing particle accelerators, published a paper in 1946 that first proposed the medical use of protons for cancer therapy. Less than 10 years later, protons were first used to treat patients with certain cancers as research and laboratory applications increased rapidly in the next three decades. But it was not until the opening of the Proton Treatment Center at Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) in southern California that the full benefits of this new treatment modality could be offered to patients in a clinical setting. Loma Linda was the first to build a hospital based proton center and treated its first patient with proton therapy in October of 1990. Since then, LLUMC's proton center has treated more than 10,000 patients. It is designed to treat about 150 patients a day. Worldwide, more than 30,000 patients have been treated with protons for various cancers and other diseases.

There is a significant difference between standard (x-ray) radiation treatment and proton therapy. If given in sufficient doses, x-ray radiation techniques will control many cancers. But, because of the physician's inability to adequately conform the irradiation pattern to the cancer, healthy tissues may receive a similar dose and can be damaged. Consequently, a less- than-desired dose is frequently used to reduce damage to healthy tissues and avoid unwanted side effects. The power of protons is that higher doses of radiation can be used to control and manage cancer while significantly reducing damage to healthy tissue and vital organs.