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Photon vs Proton Radiation Therapy for NSCLC
At the 23rd Annual Perspectives in Thoracic Oncology meeting, Abigail Berman, MD, MSCE, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, spoke about using photon versus proton radiation therapy for NSCLC.
Transcript
When thinking about different factors in photon versus proton radiation, it's really critical to understand the underlying physics. First of all, protons have a natural ability to stop where we want them to stop due to their characteristic Bragg peak.
However, that's not all that goes into radiation planning. It's very complex, and there are different types of proton therapy, some of which permit us to shape around structures better than other types of proton therapy. Therefore, all told, it's a complex issue.
That's why looking at a single trial that, say, compares photon and proton radiation is not necessarily that straightforward. You have to understand exactly what type of proton radiation was delivered, what were the circumstances, and exactly what were the physics considerations.
In addition to that, you have to consider the availability to the patient. Right now, while there are an increasing number of proton centers, they are certainly not available throughout the United States. Therefore, you have to think about whether or not it's actually available to your patient population in a feasible way for them.
Another consideration, and this is something that is certainly a consideration throughout all of medicine, is the cost. Photon and proton radiation, historically, have had different costs associated with them.
Defining what is the cost, whether that's to the insurer, to the health system, to the health care system, to the patient, these are all important considerations and something that at the University of Pennsylvania we're analyzing, along with the benefit of proton therapy.
