Treating Sarcoma With Proton Therapy
A sarcoma is cancer that develops in the bones or soft tissues in the body. The type of sarcoma varies based on the location of the cancer. Based on the variations in tissues and location, treatment options for sarcomas also vary.
In many cases, proton therapy is the optimal treatment option for sarcomas, especially those that develop in hard-to-reach areas or those adjacent to bones, soft tissues, joints, and essential organs in the body like the head and neck, pelvis or spine. Traditional radiation or photon therapy can expose these nearby unaffected areas to unnecessary high doses of radiation.
With proton therapy, a concentrated dose of radiation is applied directly to the diseased area, with the capability to increase the radiation dose to provide the most effective treatment possible in the fewest number of visits. Proton therapy also limits long-term rates of fracture and thickening or stiffening of tissues of nearby joints and limbs, which may occur as a result of traditional photon radiation therapy exposure and can be helpful before planned surgery for removal of sarcoma.
Proton therapy is a method of choice to limit exposure to other organs and tissues, especially for pediatric patients, who have many decades of life remaining. Protons are also used to treat recurrent sarcomas, previously treated with traditional X-ray radiation therapy.
Comparison image – Proton Therapy is on the left, Photon Therapy is on the right
Maryland Proton Treatment Center (MPTC) Treats a Variety of Sarcomas:
- Angiosarcoma
- Chondrosarcoma
- Epithelioid sarcoma
- Ewing’s sarcoma
- Fibrosarcoma
- Gastrointestinal stromal tumor
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Liposarcoma
- Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor
- Osteosarcoma
- Pleomorphic sarcoma
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Synovial sarcoma
- Other sarcomas