| [ Summary ] |
Particle beam therapy (PBT) makes it possible to deliver a higher concentration of radiation to tumors by utilizing Bragg peak. Proton beams are easy to utilize due to their identical biological characteristics with X-rays. Carbon-ion beams are expected to be effective for radio resistant tumors, due to their highly effective biological characteristics. PBT has a half century history, and more than 40,000 patients have been reported as having received treatments with particle beams worldwide. A historic change in this therapy occurred in the 1990s, when the Loma Linda University Medical Center began utilizing clinical procedures to become the first hospital in the world to utilize a medically dedicated proton therapy facility. Since then, similar hospital based medically dedicated facilities have been constructed. Results from around the world have shown the therapeutic superiority of PBT over alternative treatment options for ocular melanoma, skull base sarcoma, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and prostate cancer. PBT is expected to be further advanced both clinically and technologically. |