National Association for Proton Therapy and Pediatric Proton Foundation Release First Snapshot of Treatment Data on Children at U.S. Proton Centers | WPN World People News

A total of 465 children and adolescents were treated at the nation's nine proton therapy centers in 2010, according to a new survey, presented recently at the Children's Oncology Group (COG) meeting in Atlanta. COG is the world's largest organization devoted to childhood and adolescent cancer research. The findings provide the first comprehensive look at proton therapy in children.

"Although many different tumors types were treated in 2010, there seems to be a particular emphasis on pediatric brain tumors and sarcomas," reports Dr. Daniel Indelicato, a radiation oncologist at the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute who presented the survey results. "Although in 2010, two-thirds of patients were treated at Massachusetts General Hospital, M.D. Anderson, and the University of Florida, I am encouraged by the emergence of other facilities who are building pediatric programs." He notes, “The survey results confirm that pediatric proton therapy is resource intense and involves a dedicated multidisciplinary team: Approximately 50% of patients treated in 2010 needed daily anesthesia for treatment and three of six of the most common tumors required the delivery of chemotherapy along with their proton therapy.”

In keeping with its prevalence, approximately 75% of the young patients treated with protons had brain tumors. More than half of children treated were under eight years old. The most frequently treated tumors were ependymomas, low-grade gliomas, and medulloblastomas. Other commonly treated tumors include rhabdomyosarcomas, Ewing's sarcomas, and craniopharyngiomas.

"We are proud to report that all operational U.S. centers treat children," said Leonard Arzt, Executive Director of NAPT. "It is widely known that the particular advantages of proton therapy take on even greater significance for the youngest patients."

One of the most important advantages of proton therapy is its capacity to kill tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue nearby, such as in the brain or other vital organs, from the adverse effects of radiation exposure. Traditional radiation in pediatric brain tumors has been associated with long-term neurocognitive deficits including decreases in IQ, difficulties with attention, processing speed and other executive skills. Also, even low dose radiation to glands in the brain may have a life-long detrimental effect on hormone production and growth. Protons have the ability to target tumors with high precision and have no exit dose. The decreased radiation dose outside the tumor is especially critical for children since the risk of secondary, radiation-induced tumors may reach 25% in long term survivors treated with conventional radiotherapy.

"Families need to know that there's hope when a child receives a cancer diagnosis and that proton therapy is the state of the art in the field of radiation oncology," said Susan Ralston, Executive Director of the Pediatric Proton Foundation. "At the same time, the unmet need is enormous since proton treatment is of finite availability. We estimate that 3,000 newly diagnosed kids might be candidates for proton therapy each year," she said.

Both NAPT and the Foundation advocate for expanded proton therapy center development and increased treatment access for children. The organizations plan to continue and enhance pediatric data collection and tracking in the future.