Proton Beam Therapy of Liver

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Medical Author:

Tse-Ling Fong, MD

Tse-Ling Fong, MD

Dr. Fong is the Medical Director of the USC Liver Transplant Program and Associate Professor of Medicine at the USC Keck School of Medicine. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Southern California and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and the subspecialty of Gastroenterology.

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Medical Editor:

Leslie J. Schoenfield, MD, PhD

Leslie J. Schoenfield, MD, PhD

Dr. Schoenfield served as associate professor of medicine and consultant in gastroenterology on the faculty of the Mayo Clinic for seven years. He became a professor of medicine in residence at UCLA from 1972 to 1999 (now emeritus). He was the director of gastroenterology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for 25 years, where he received the chief resident's teaching award, the president's award, and the pioneer of medicine award.

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What is proton beam therapy and for what is it used?

Proton beam therapy is a form of radiation that can be used for the treatment of various solid tumors, including liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma, HCC). This technique is able to deliver high doses of radiation to a defined local area. The ideal HCC patient for this treatment has only a small (<5 cm) solitary lesion (tumor).

How is proton beam therapy done?

To have this procedure done, the patient actually is fitted with a body cast so that he or she can be placed in the identical position for each session. Therapy is conducted daily for 15 days.

How effective is this therapy in treating liver cancer?

There are not much data yet regarding the efficacy of this treatment in liver cancer. Preliminary data from the U.S. suggest similar effectiveness as seen with TACE (chemoembolization) or ablation (radiofrequency or alcohol) for the treatment of HCC. It is not known, however, whether this type of radiation treatment prolongs the life of the patient.

REFERENCES: Garden OJ, Rees M, Poston GJ, Mirza D, Saunders M, Ledermann J, Primrose JN, Parks RW. Guidelines for resection of colorectal cancer liver metastases. Gut. 2006 Aug;55 Suppl 3:iii1-8.

Brown DB, Geschwind JF, Soulen MC, Millward SF, Sacks D. Society of Interventional Radiology position statement on chemoembolization of hepatic malignancies. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2006 Feb;17(2 Pt 1):217-23.

Bruix J, Sherman M; Practice Guidelines Committee, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Management of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology. 2005 Nov;42(5):1208-36.

Medically Reviewed by Paul Oneill, MD, Board Certified Oncology