Compared with standard photon radiation therapy, proton therapy is a cost-effective way to treat fast-growing brain tumors that mainly affect children.
That conclusion comes from researchers at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA, who presented findings on September 22 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in Atlanta.
The study examined a population of 18-year-old survivors of medulloblastoma brain tumors who were assumed to have been diagnosed at age 5 and were at risk of developing 10 adverse health events, including various hormone deficiencies, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and death.
Results showed that due to the prevention of side effects, proton therapy decreased risks of hearing loss, secondary malignancy, and heart failure, resulting in cost savings of more than 95% in study simulations.
Dr. Raymond Mailhot Vega, who presented the results, said proton therapy might prove to be both cost-effective and cost-saving for other malignancies and, consequently, more cancer patients may benefit from this form of treatment.
