Genito-urinary cancer

Proton therapy to treat genito-urinary cancers

Prostate cancer is the second most frequent in men worldwide¹, traditional radiation treatment carries the risk of serious toxicity due to the proximity of important nerves, the rectum and the bladder². By targeting the tumor, proton therapy can decrease the risk of damage to surrounding organs. It lowers the risk of damaging healthy tissue and provides patients with better quality of life. Gynecological cancers such as cervical, endometrial, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancer can also be good indications for proton therapy. As it allows for higher doses of radiation to be delivered to the tumor without damaging surrounding healthy tissue and organs, Proton therapy is an established and efficacious treatment for localized prostate cancer that achieves highly effective tumor control with excellent toxicity outcomes and patient quality of life comparable to advanced radiotherapy techniques. For selected patients such as patients with high-risk disease, node-positive disease or recurrent disease, proton therapy offers potential for reduction in short- and long-term side effects by minimizing radiation dose to healthy tissues.³ Protons may also help spare hormone function in younger women by preserving the ovaries.