UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2017 | Page 17
Fiveash, M.D., professor in the UAB Department
of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Center senior
scientist. “It uses sophisticated imaging to create
a 3-D image of the tumor. It then delivers a
focused beam of radiation, custom-sized and
-shaped, so that it paints the tumor site while
leaving surrounding tissue generally untouched,
reducing collateral damage.”
Proton therapy is appropriate for many solid
cancer tumors, including tumors of the brain
and central nervous system, eye, gastrointestinal
tract, head and neck, liver, lung, prostate, spine,
and some breast tumors. It can be very efficacious
for single-site tumors. In some cases, proton
therapy may be useful in treating cancer that has
metastasized, or spread into surrounding tissue,
due to its focused dose advantages.
“Proton therapy is particularly beneficial
for children, as they are especially vulnerable
to damage from radiation,” says Alyssa Reddy,
M.D., Cancer Center senior scientist and
professor of hematology/oncology in the UAB
Department of Pediatrics. “Conventional
radiation can help cure a child’s cancer, but
it carries an increased risk of damage to
surrounding tissue. In children, tissue damage,
particularly in still-developing organs such as
the brain, can leave the child susceptible to
myriad health issues that may not emerge for
years. Proton therapy offers the opportunity to
successfully treat pediatric tumors and minimize
the risk for side effects later in life. This will
improve the health and quality of life of pediatric
cancer survivors, most of whom we expect to live
long and productive lives.”
The UAB Proton Center will consist of a
three-story building to house the proton therapy
system, manufactured by Varian Medical
Systems, a longtime partner with UAB in the
delivery of radiation therapy. UAB will lease the
property to Pr oton International, which will build
and own the facility. Planning and pre-treatment
will continue to be done at UAB’s Hazelrig-Salter
Radiation Oncology Center. The medical staff,
including radiation oncologists, cancer physicians,
medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapy
technologists and nurses, will be exclusively from
UAB.
UAB will also be involved in clinical research
studies on the use of proton therapy, to discover
the full utility of the therapy and produce best
practice parameters on its use.
Proton therapy
uses an aimed
beam of protons
directed at
the tumor site.
The beam is
configured
to deliver the
majority of its
energy precisely
at the tumor
location.
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