Proton Therapy for Cancer: Best Treatment in India

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Proton Therapy for Cancer: Best Treatment in India

  • Category

    General

  • Published By

    GetWellGo Team

  • Updated on

    03-Feb-2025

What is Proton Therapy?

Proton therapy can be defined as one of the forms of radiation therapy that help manage cancer. Proton therapy, on the other hand, uses protons as the source of the cancer treatment rather than the photons as used in the normal X-ray radiation. Proton therapy’s strength is the accuracy. Protons are sharp and intense and they therefore can focus directly on the tumor, sparing most of the surrounding healthy tissues. This also means that it is very effective to tumors located near tissues that are sensitive to radiation or in children.

Cancer treatment using proton or ion beams is based on the fact that by directing a high-energy proton beam to the tumour area, the protons’ energy impacts the tumor cells and effectively injures their DNA, causing them to cease dividing. It is also non-invasive but is actually usually employed in cases where the tumor is resistant to radiation treatment. It also may be used if the patient has already received other treatments such as surgery or chemotherapy.

Proton Therapy Procedure & Risks

Proton Therapy Procedure

Here is the process through which proton therapy is conducted:

Initial Consultation & Evaluation

  • A radiation oncologist shall meet the patient; review his/her medical history, type of cancer, and general health status before deciding on proton therapy.
  • The patient’s oncologist will explain the objective of proton therapy and the advantages and disadvantages of using this technique.

Planning the Treatment 

  • Simulation: A simulation is done for the patient before giving him/her proton therapy in order to determine the angles and doses to be used. This is basically performed with the help of some sophisticated methods as for instance CT scans or MRI.
  • Immobilization: For the duration of the treatment, the patient may be required to fix a mask or a mold that has been made to fit him/her in the course of treatment in case a tumor is in that area. This is important to observe for the accurate gearing to the target market.
  • Localization: Small depots of markers or tattoos are drawn on the patient’s body to ensure that the proton beam is directed properly during each session.

Treatment Sessions

  • Proton therapy is typically prescribed in several fractions, and usually it’s given in five-day-a-week based on type of cancer and treatment regime.
  • In most instances, a session lasts for about 20 to 30 minutes. However, most of the time in therapy the patient is off the proton beam.
  • The patient lies on a treatment table and the proton giving machine also known as cyclotron or synchrotron targets the proton beams on the tumor area.
  • Proton therapy is usually painless. Patient may feel that the procedure is warm, but it involves no surgical cut into the skin, since this is non-surgical procedure.

Monitoring and Follow-Up

  • One major component of patients’ care is the continuous evaluation of their response to treatment after each of the session by the oncologist who may change the plan to suit the new circumstances.
  • Sequential check-ups are conducted in the process to ascertain whether a particular type of therapy is responding well. Diagnostic procedures may also be employed in order to visualize the kind of reaction that the tumor is having.

Risks of Proton Therapy

Proton therapy however has certain benefits over conventional radiation therapy and these include: reduced exposure of the subsequent healthy tissues to radiation because of tight packing of protons, bringing radiation dose precisely to the tumor mass. However, the following risks and side effects are still worth knowing about:

  • Fatigue
  • Skin Reactions
  • Swelling
  • Hair Loss
  • Secondary Cancer
  • Organ Damage

How Proton Beam Therapy Works

This sort of cancer treatment relies on use of proton beams to deliver high energy to cancer cells because of their ability to selectively affect them. These Protons are delivered to the tumor by means of a machine known as cyclotron or synchrotron, where they are first made to accelerate and are then guided towards the tumor location. Protons on reaching the tumor locations release energy within the tumor cells and disrupt the DNA mechanism of growth and division of cancer cells.

Thus, unlike X-rays which keep on radiating energy as they penetrate through tissues, protons radiate mostly at the tumor known as the Bragg Peak. This means that protons do indeed offer the possibility to deliver a higher amount of ionizing radiation dose to the tumor without producing damage on the surrounding healthy tissues.

Key Differences Between Proton Therapy and Radiation Therapy

Radiation Therapy: Uses X-rays and gives satisfactory result in many types of cancers. Still, it is noteworthy that photons do deposit radiation en route through the body and may harm health tissue as a result.

Proton Beam Therapy: It adopts the use of protons that release their energies predominantly at the tumor area; hence, good radiation with minimal harm to tissues.

Benefits of Proton Therapy vs Radiation Therapy

Proton Therapy and Traditional Radiation Therapy (photon-based) are two techniques that can be used to deliver radiation therapy to cancer cells but the difference is on how they produce the radiation beam. There are the following benefits of applying proton therapy over radiation therapy:

  • Precision and Accuracy
  • Reduced Side Effects
  • Paediatric Cancer Treatment
  • Effective for Specific Tumors such as:
  • Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors
  • Eye Tumors (e.g., ocular melanoma)
  • Head and Neck Cancers
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Lung Cancer (in some cases)
  • Liver and Pancreatic Cancer
  • Pediatric Cancers

Success Rate of Proton Therapy

The effectiveness of proton beam radiation therapy varies with the type of tumour, tumor site, tumour stage and the general health of the patient of the patient. Proton therapy is, however, an effective and accurate mode of radiation therapy that has varying rates of success depending on these aspects. There is evidence proving that proton therapy worked effectively in treating different types of cancer such as brain cancer, children cancer, prostate cancer and eye cancer. Due to its fine accuracy and minimal damage to the surrounding healthy tissue and organs, it is useful for treatment of cancerous growths close to vital structures. Proton therapy is also non-invasive, has higher success rates and fewer side effects than radiation therapy. The cancer cure rates differ with tumor type and location, but range from 60% – 90% at 5 year survival rate.

Best Hospitals for Proton Therapy in India

Max Super Speciality Hospital (Saket, New Delhi)

Saket, New Delhi based Max Super Speciality Hospital specializes in the cancer treatment and has radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, and palliative care.

Medanta - The Medicity (Gurugram)

The facilities include IMRT, SBRT, surgeries, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and other forms of treatment and care in Medanta, a multi-specialty hospital located in Sector 38, Gurugram, Haryana.

BLK Super Speciality Hospital (New Delhi)

BLK, a top cancer care provider in Pusa Road, New Delhi, offers advanced radiation equipment, chemotherapy, surgery, and palliative care, including proton therapy.

Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI)

FMRI in Gurugram, Haryana brings radiation therapy, Chemotherapy, Surgery, and Cancer care plans, in closer coordination with Oncologists, Surgeons, Radiologists.

Proton Therapy in India with GetWellGo

GetWellGo is an organization which in this case acts like a bridge connecting foreign clients to hospitals especially in India for such treatments as proton therapy. They associated with huge hospitals in India and hosts package services including treatment planning, travelling arrangement, accommodation and medical consultation. By having an appointment with GetWellGo we help in identifying the hospitals for proton therapy and elaborate the travel/medical packages for the same.

Why Choose Proton Therapy in India with GetWellGo?

  • Highly Experienced Oncologists
  • Top Hospitals Across India
  • Advanced Facilities
  • Advanced Diagnostic Tools
  • Cost-Effective Treatment
  • Visa Facilitation
  • Airport Transfers
  • Accommodation Assistance
  • Multilingual Support

Conclusion

Proton therapy is one of the precise kinds of radiation therapy which has several advantages over the photon-based treatment modalities especially in terms of harming the surrounding healthy tissues. It is especially used in cases of tumors affecting vital organs, children, and when the tumor is located deeply seated in the body. Proton therapy has proved to have an efficiency that is as high as or even slightly higher than in conventional radiation: it is useful in cases where it is necessary to avoid strong impact on organs, tissues, or bones encountered when treating locations near vital organs. Being more costly and less available for application as compared to conventional radiation, it has some notable benefits in specific instances. 

FAQ

1. What is proton therapy?

  • Proton therapy is one of the radiation therapies used in the treatment of cancers, where unused high-energy protons are used. Unlike the X-ray radiation therapy that employs the use of photons to treat cancer, proton therapy is more productive in targeting the tumor without affecting the health of other tissues.

2. What are the advantages of proton therapy?

  • Accuracy: Proton therapy delivered cancerous tumors with a lot of precision which results in little or no impact on the normal body cells.
  • Less Harmful Impact on Healthy Tissues: This is another advantage of proton therapy since the damage caused to the healthy tissues by proton beams is much less compared to the damage caused by other comparable radiation therapy modalities.
  • Advantages: Proton therapy is especially recommended for tumors that are located near critical organs (such as the brain, the heart, the spinal cord) and for children.
  • Less Damages to the Healthy Cells: Proton therapy exposes the body to minimal radiation to healthy cells and hence has low risks of secondary cancers.

3. How does it take for a patient to complete the proton therapy treatment?

  • Each treatment is conducted in a 20 to 30 minutes’ range, with the actual administration of the proton beam taking only a few minutes. The total duration of the treatment usually takes 4-6 weeks, with the sessions being held 5 times a week.

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