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Cancers treated with
Proton Technology

Proton therapy precisely targets cancer while sparing healthy tissue, offering powerful treatment options for many tumor types.

A male doctor wearing a white coat and blue patterned tie is smiling and talking to an older male patient dressed in a blue shirt. The doctor's coat has the text "ACKERMAN Cancer Center" and "Scot Ackerman, MD, FACR" embroidered on it. They are in a medical office with light-colored cabinets and a window in the background.
Proton therapy effectively treats a wide range of cancers, especially those near vital organs or in complex, hard‑to‑reach areas. It’s often used for brain, head and neck, lung, breast, prostate, among others.

Each cancer type benefits differently from proton therapy’s precision and reduced side effects. Select a cancer type below to explore specific advantages or current research supporting this advanced treatment.

Proton Therapy

  1. Zhou J, Yang B, Wang X, Jing Z. Comparison of the Effectiveness of Radiotherapy with Photons and Particles for Chordoma After Surgery: A Meta-Analysis. World Neurosurg. 2018;117:46-53. doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2018.05.209
  2. Amichetti M, Cianchetti M, Amelio D, Enrici RM, Minniti G. Proton therapy in chordoma of the base of the skull: a systematic review. Neurosurg Rev. 2009;32(4):403-416. doi:10.1007/s10143-009-0194-4
  3. Holtzman AL, Rotondo RL, Rutenberg MS, et al. Clinical Outcomes Following Dose-Escalated Proton Therapy for Skull-Base Chordoma. Int J Part Ther. 2021;8(1):179-188. doi:10.14338/IJPT-20-00066.1
  1. Hug EB, Devries A, Thornton AF, et al. Management of atypical and malignant meningiomas: role of high-dose, 3D-conformal radiation therapy. J Neurooncol. 2000;48(2):151-160. doi:10.1023/a:1006434124794
  2. Combs SE, Debus J, Schulz-Ertner D. Radiotherapeutic alternatives for previously irradiated recurrent gliomas. BMC Cancer. 2007;7:167. doi:10.1186/1471-2407-7-167
  3. Brown PD, Chung C, Liu DD, et al. A prospective phase II randomized trial of proton radiotherapy vs intensity-modulated radiotherapy for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Neuro Oncol. 2021;23(8):1337-1347. doi:10.1093/neuonc/noab040
  1. Hug EB. Proton Therapy for Primary Breast Cancer. Breast Care (Basel). 2018;13(3):168-172. doi:10.1159/000489893
  2. Laugaard Lorenzen E, Christian Rehammar J, Jensen MB, Ewertz M, Brink C. Radiation-induced risk of ischemic heart disease following breast cancer radiotherapy in Denmark, 1977-2005. Radiother Oncol. 2020;152:103-110. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2020.08.007
  3. Braunstein LZ, Cahlon O. Potential Morbidity Reduction With Proton Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2018;28(2):138-149. doi:10.1016/j.semradonc.2017.11.009
  1. Lin SH, Hobbs BP, Verma V, et al. Randomized Phase IIB Trial of Proton Beam Therapy Versus Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2020;38(14):1569-1579. doi:10.1200/JCO.19.02503
  3. Lin SH, Merrell KW, Shen J, et al. Multi-institutional analysis of radiation modality use and postoperative outcomes of neoadjuvant chemoradiation for esophageal cancer. Radiother Oncol. 2017;123(3):376-381. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2017.04.013
  1. Frank SJ, Garden AS, Rosenthal DI, et al. Proton versus photon radiotherapy for patients with oropharyngeal cancer in the USA: a multicentre, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2025;S0140-6736(25)01962-2. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01962-2
  2. Patel SH, Wang Z, Wong WW, et al. Charged particle therapy versus photon therapy for paranasal sinus and nasal cavity malignant diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Oncol. 2014;15(9):1027-1038. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(14)70268-2
  1. Sanford NN, Pursley J, Noe B, et al. Protons versus Photons for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Liver Decompensation and Overall Survival. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019;105(1):64-72. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.01.076
  3. Cheng JY, Liu CM, Wang YM, et al. Proton versus photon radiotherapy for primary hepatocellular carcinoma: a propensity-matched analysis. Radiat Oncol. 2020;15(1):159. doi:10.1186/s13014-020-01605-4
  1. Habl G, Katayama S, Marschner S, et al. In silico comparison of photon versus proton based stereotactic body radiotherapy for primary renal cell carcinoma. Radiother Oncol. 2025;192:110322. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2025.110322. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41281919/
  1. Higgins KA, O’Connell K, Liu Y, et al. National Cancer Database Analysis of Proton Versus Photon Radiation Therapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2017;97(1):128-137. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2016.10.001
  3. Nantavithya C, Gomez DR, Wei X, et al. Phase 2 Study of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Stereotactic Body Proton Therapy for High-Risk, Medically Inoperable, Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2018;101(3):558-563. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2018.02.022
  1. Verma V, Lin SH, Simone CB 2nd, Mehta MP. Clinical outcomes and toxicities of proton radiotherapy for gastrointestinal neoplasms: a systematic review. J Gastrointest Oncol. 2016;7(4):644-664. doi:10.21037/jgo.2016.05.06
  2. Rutenberg MS, Nichols RC. Proton beam radiotherapy for pancreas cancer. J Gastrointest Oncol. 2020;11(1):166-175. doi:10.21037/jgo.2019.03.02
  1. Hoppe BS, Michalski JM, Mendenhall NP, et al. Comparative effectiveness study of patient-reported outcomes after proton therapy or intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Cancer. 2014;120(7):1076-1082. doi:10.1002/cncr.28536
  2. Mendenhall NP, Hoppe BS, Nichols RC, et al. Five-year outcomes from 3 prospective trials of image-guided proton therapy for prostate cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2014;88(3):596-602. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2013.11.007
  3. Grewal AS, Schonewolf C, Min EJ, et al. Four-Year Outcomes From a Prospective Phase II Clinical Trial of Moderately Hypofractionated Proton Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019;105(4):713-722. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.05.069
  1.  Verma V, Rwigema JM, Malyapa RS, Regine WF, Simone CB 2nd. Systematic assessment of clinical outcomes and toxicities of proton radiotherapy for reirradiation. Radiother Oncol. 2017;125(1):21-30. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2017.08.005
  2. Chao HH, Berman AT, Simone CB 2nd, et al. Multi-Institutional Prospective Study of Reirradiation with Proton Beam Radiotherapy for Locoregionally Recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. J Thorac Oncol. 2017;12(2):281-292. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2016.10.018
  1. Xiang M, Chang DT, Pollom EL. Second cancer risk after primary cancer treatment with three-dimensional conformal, intensity-modulated, or proton beam radiation therapy. Cancer. 2020;126(15):3560-3568. doi:10.1002/cncr.32938
  2. Chung CS, Yock TI, Nelson K, Xu Y, Keating NL, Tarbell NJ. Incidence of second malignancies among patients treated with proton versus photon radiation. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2013;87(1):46-52. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2013.04.030

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