Proton therapy has shown remarkable advantages over conventional therapy – especially in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Proton radiation therapy’s accuracy and control gives physicians a non-invasive and low-risk option for prostate cancer treatment. The treatment is capable of delivering precise, high doses of radiation to accurately target cancer cells without causing damage to healthy tissue surrounding the prostate. Proton therapy poses minimal risk of impotency and incontinence.

The proton therapy treatment for prostate cancer is widely performed using a fixed beam. The P-Cure system accommodates this treatment preference by converting the chair on the robotic arm to a coach in simple, quick change.

The seated position offers distinct advantages because the upright position for both treatment planning and treatment delivery permits more precise targeting of the tumor for placement of the proton beam.

The usual modality for diagnostic and treatment positioning is for the patient to be in the supine position. However, in the horizontal position, for example, the lungs are partially covered by the heart.

In clinical trials and using proton therapy in Hodgkin lymphoma patients with involvement of the mediastinum (middle of the chest), proton therapy was able to reduce the radiation dose to all the organs at risk, including the heart, lung, breast, esophagus, and stomach compared with X-ray radiation. Patients treated in a seated position may benefit from lower rates of heart problems and fewer radiationinduced cancers because precisely aiming the proton beam can reduce the radiation dose to surrounding healthy organs.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death, surpassed only by lung cancer. Although proton treatment is relatively new for breast cancer, clinical trials have already shown excellent signs of disease control and minimal side effects compared with traditional forms of treatment.

P-Cure’s seated position offers advantages for the patient by decreasing the amount of radiation to the heart and lungs, lowering the risk of developing side effects such as heart disease, reduced lung function, or secondary cancer.

Proton therapy is more advantageous in cases where cancer has developed in the left breast, since it is situated so close to the heart. Whether cancer develops in either the right or left breast, clinical research pilot study results have shown the proton therapy plan to be superior to the conventional plan in reducing the amount of radiation to the heart and lungs.

Until now, lung cancer patients undergoing CT scanning and proton therapy normally lie flat on their backs. Research shows that when patients are imaged in an upright position compared to a supine position, motion within the lung was reduced and absolute lung volumes were much larger.

The P-Cure seated solution assures that the patient’s absolute lung volumes are larger for treatment planning and treatment delivery, allowing physicians to better treat the lung tumor while at the same time sparing more of the normal lung tissue.

Liver metastases are cancerous tumors that originate elsewhere and spread to the liver. Because the liver is the central filtration point for all the blood that circulates through your body, cells from many types of cancer that begin in other parts of your body — such as the colon, breast, pancreas, skin and lungs — can spread to the liver and metastasize, or grow into secondary cancerous tumors.

Liver cancer treatment requires high doses of radiation, and targeting liver tumors can be especially challenging. Radiation to healthy tissues can damage the stomach, kidneys and small intestine, as well as the heart, lungs and spinal cord. The liver itself and surrounding organs are very sensitive to radiation. Either a high dose to a small area, or a low dose to a large area, of these critical organs can lead to significant debilitating consequences.

Side effects of radiation treatment to the liver and surrounding areas may include nausea, vomiting, heartburn, cramping, malabsorption, diarrhea, and dehydration. In severe cases, they could include ulceration, perforation, internal bleeding and organ failures. Proton therapy can provide effective local tumor control while being much less invasive than other treatments. It is anticipated that the anatomical advantages of treatment delivery in the seated position will allow physicians to more precisely treat patients with liver cancer, while reducing treatment related side effects.

The nature of pancreatic cancer, combined with the location of the pancreas and its proximity to other sensitive tissues, can make the disease challenging to treat.

Traditional forms of radiation (X-ray) can sometimes prove problematic because the organs that surround the pancreas – including the small intestine, kidneys, spinal cord and stomach – cannot withstand high doses of radiation.

Using proton therapy for pancreatic cancer, however, the radiation dose is concentrated at the site of the pancreatic cancer, sparing other healthy organs exposure to radiation, and decreasing the risk of side effects. Since higher doses of radiation can be delivered to the pancreas with a lower risk of damage to other organs, the chance of destroying the pancreatic cancer is potentially greater. The P-Cure seated position for the patient should provide greater anatomical advantages for more precise delivery of the proton scanning beam by reducing treatment related side effects to nearby and overlapping healthy organs.

Treatment for GI tract tumors often requires a combination of radiation therapy and either chemotherapy or surgery.

The combination of these therapies can be difficult for patients to tolerate. In some cases, standard radiation isn’t a viable treatment option for patients because it would cause too much damage to healthy tissues and organs near the tumor. For these patients, proton therapy can be an effective treatment option. Protons deposit more energy directly to the tumor and reduce the radiation dose to healthy tissues. Patients treated with proton therapy for GI tract tumors may experience fewer side effects as well.

The advantage of P-Cure’s seated position for treatment planning and treatment delivery is that the organs in the torso are in a more natural position with distinct separation that is often compromised when compressed one upon the other in the supine position.

The first clinical application for proton therapy was for cancers in the head. The precise nature of proton therapy makes it an excellent option for the treatment of head and neck cancers.

Proton therapy delivers highly effective doses of radiation with minimal side effects reducing the risk of damage to non-cancerous tissue in the head and neck. Physicians are better able to control the exact point at which the proton beam deposits its energy, so the cancer receives more radiation, while sensitive structures like the jawbone, salivary glands, eyes and spinal cord receive less radiation. This lowers the risk of side effects like bone injury and permanent dryness of the mouth.

The P-Cure seated position creates new treatment advantages over current patient treatment in a fixed position chair. Treatment benefits include greater patient comfort, better saliva drainage and easier breathing for asthmatic and other patients experiencing impaired breathing. Patients in the seated position may also experience less collateral radiation to sensitive organs due to the increased accuracy of the proton beam delivery.