Connect
← Return to Recently received prostate cancer diagnosis: need a second opinion.
Discussion
Recently received prostate cancer diagnosis: need a second opinion.
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Dec 9 6:03am | Replies (30)Comment receiving replies
I've seen the same studies suggesting that proton vs photon radiation makes no difference in overall survival. Sometimes you want the radiation to spread a bit (photon) to catch any undetected cancer nearby, and sometimes you want the radiation to be very precise (proton) to avoid damaging healthy organs.
Strong candidates for proton radiation are children with brain tumours, because you don't want to damage the healthy parts of their brains, and they may have to live with the side-effects for 80+ years. But many other patients get it as well, including some with prostate cancer.
Disclaimer: I'm not a researcher or medical professional, etc. etc., and you don't even know my real name, so take what I write with a big grain of salt.
Replies to "I've seen the same studies suggesting that proton vs photon radiation makes no difference in overall..."
Connect
You have hit on some important differences. This 2023 study confirms what you are saying but also mentions that there is no difference in clinical outcomes for prostate cancer patients, but, they do say that more studies need to be done. See below
This review has presented currently available comparative clinical outcomes between proton and photon therapies for several cancer types. Overall, passive scattering proton therapy shows similar clinical outcomes to intensity modulated photon therapy for prostate, lung and esophageal cancers, while active scanning proton therapy appears to result in a decrease in certain radiation-induced side effects as compared to intensity modulated photon therapy for head and neck, thoracic, craniospinal, and pediatric CNS cancers. However, the evidence is not definitive and further demonstration of the clinical benefit of proton radiation therapy will depend on the findings of ongoing and future comparative randomized clinical trials. In the meantime, further development of beam delivery and imaging techniques is necessary to fully take advantage of the dose shaping capabilities of proton radiation therapy and achieve its full clinical potential.