13.02.2020
Prague Proton Therapy Medical Team Publishes Their Latest Results, Using Proton Therapy to Treat Prostate Cancer
Several treatment options exist for managing prostate cancer in men. Surgery and conventional radiotherapy have been shown to be equally effective at treating prostate cancer, however conventional treatments such as these can result in side effects that can reduce overall quality of life. Proton therapy is equally effective at treating prostate cancer, however causes less side effects, thereby preserving the quality of life of patients during and after treatment.
Proton therapy has been used to treat prostate cancer for over 25 years. Doctors at the Proton Therapy Center (PTC) in Prague have been treating prostate cancer with proton therapy since opening their facility in 2012. The Prague Proton Therapy Center uses the most advanced form of proton therapy available known as ‘Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy’ (IMPT) – otherwise known as ‘Pencil-Beam Scanning’ (PBS). This highly accurate form of proton therapy allows high doses of cancer-killing proton radiation to be delivered to the tumour, while sparing healthy surrounding tissue from harm.
The PTC medical team have published their latest treatment findings, using IMPT proton therapy to treat prostate cancer. Their success in treating prostate cancer with proton therapy was published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology (the Official Journal of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists).
This study follows the progress of 200 prostate cancer patients that received an advanced and accelerated proton treatment program. The results show that this treatment is extremely effective at treating and removing prostate cancer. The research also shows that proton therapy for prostate cancer results in extremely low side effects. The PTC medical team was able to successfully remove the prostate cancer with almost no side effects using an accelerated, 2 week treatment schedule.
Side effects to the bladder and bowel are commonly reported among patients undergoing conventional radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) rates side effects on a ‘grading’ scale from 0 (none) to 4 (severe). Patients examined during the PTC study experienced an extremely low degree of bladder side effects, or in many cases, no side effects at all (grade 0). Only 22.5% of patients experienced grade 2 side effects. The majority of these grade 2 side effects completely disappeared following treatment. Patients undergoing treatment experienced absolutely no severe (i.e. no grade 3 or 4) bladder-related side effects.
In addition to low bladder-related side effects, patients undergoing proton therapy in Prague experienced virtually no bowel side effects. 20% of patients experienced mild, short-term bowel-related side effects that disappeared following treatment. Importantly, 80% of patients experienced no bowel-related side effects during or after treatment. Excitingly, no patients experienced severe (grade 3 or 4) side effects!
