< The Proton Center of Arkansas

Proton Therapy

What is Proton Therapy?

Proton therapy is a cutting-edge and highly precise form of radiation therapy used to treat some types of cancers and non-cancerous tumors. Unlike conventional radiation therapy, which uses X-rays or photons, proton therapy harnesses the power of protons.

Protons can be precisely aimed with millimeter-level accuracy, delivering a potent radiation dose directly to the tumor. This approach significantly limits the exposure of healthy tissue to radiation, reducing the risk of severe side effects.

Proton Therapy and Children

Children with cancer face risks from radiation treatment that adults do not, including developmental delays, hormone deficiencies and effects on bone growth. Children can experience significant long-term side effects, including secondary cancers in healthy tissues that receive collateral radiation during treatment.

  • There is no minimum age for a child to be eligible for proton therapy.
  • Children as young as 12 months have received proton therapy.
While proton beam therapy offers advantages in terms of precision and minimizing collateral damage, it may not be suitable for all types of cancer or cases. Treatment decisions should be made in consultation with your child’s medical care team.

 

  • Atypcial Teratoid Rhaboid Tumor
  • Cranopharyngioma
  • Ependymoma
  • Germ Cell Tumor
  • Glioma
  • Medulloblastoma
  • Pineoblastoma
  • Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor

    Head & Neck Cancers

  • Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Parotid Carcinoma
  • Retinoblastoma

    Sarcomas

  • Ewing Sarcoma
  • Chondrosarcoma
  • Fibrosarcoma
  • Leiomyosarcoma
  • Lipsarcoma
  • Osteosarcoma
  • Rhabdomyosarcoma
  • Synovial Sarcoma

Benefits of Proton Therapy for Children

Proton therapy represents a powerful tool in the fight against cancer, offering hope and healing while minimizing the impact on our patient’s daily life.

Four key benefits of Proton Therapy:

  • Reduced Side Effects: Protons stop within the body and have virtually no exit damage beyond their target. By sparing healthy tissues, proton therapy helps minimize side effects, making it especially valuable for pediatric patients and those with tumors near vital organs.
  • Precise Treatment: Protons can be conformed to the exact size, shape and depth of a tumor. The ability to precisely target tumors is critical for cancer treatment, ensuring maximum effectiveness.
  • Non-Invasive: Proton therapy is a non-invasive treatment option, typically performed on an outpatient basis, without the need for surgery. Each treatment is typically 30 minutes or less, and recovery is faster.
  • Enhanced Quality of Life: Minimized side effects mean patients can maintain a better quality of life during and after treatment.

 

Proton Therapy Room.
Treatments

A Unique Experience

The proton center’s ambient experience helps calm anxious children by allowing them to choose their own room theme that is displayed through wall and ceiling projectors. Soothing audio contributes to the relaxing environment.

Proton Therapy Frequently Asked Questions

Proton therapy is a form of radiation treatment that destroys cancer cells using protons instead of photons. Protons are positively charged particles, while photons are high energy X-rays. Both kill cancer cells or slow their growth by damaging cancer cell DNA.

More than 50% of all cancer patients need radiation therapy as part of their treatment. The goal of radiation in cancer treatment is to target a tumor with radiation while sparing surrounding healthy tissue and organs.

Protons can be precisely conformed to release most of their energy directly into a cancerous tumor. This fundamental physics characteristic allows for proton radiation to markedly reduce the amount of healthy tissue that is exposed to radiation and minimize side effects.

Proton radiation is more effective than standard X-ray radiation in treating certain solid tumors. Compared with photon X-ray radiation, proton therapy is more effective at depositing radiation exactly at the tumor site. Less radiation reaches the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor, resulting in fewer side effects. This includes all tissues between the skin and the tumor deep inside the patient. In addition, tumors that are close to critical organs can also be treated more effectively with proton therapy due to the ability of the proton beam to target only the tumor and spare critical organs.

Proton radiation is an effective treatment for a wide range of solid tumors, particularly those that are hard to treat with traditional radiation therapy. This is an important treatment option especially for children with cancer,as their long survival time can expose them to the lasting effects of photon radiation toxicity.

This treatment approach drastically reduces the risk and severity of side effects, including the development of secondary cancers. Recovery times are much quicker, and the overall quality of life is better.

Prior to Arkansas Children's partnership with Proton International, UAMS and Baptist Health, cancer patients who needed proton radiation had to travel out of state for this treatment creating additional burden for patients and families.