Proton Beam Therapy - the Challenges of Delivering High-quality Evidence of Clinical Benefit

National Cancer Research Institute Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Working Group (CTRad) Proton Beam Clinical Trial Strategy Group

doi:10.1016/j.clon.2018.02.031

Proton Beam Therapy - the Challenges of Delivering High-quality Evidence of Clinical Benefit

Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2018 May;30(5):280-284. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2018.02.031. Epub 2018 Mar 16.

Author

National Cancer Research Institute Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Working Group (CTRad) Proton Beam Clinical Trial Strategy Group

Collaborators

National Cancer Research Institute Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Working Group (CTRad) Proton Beam Clinical Trial Strategy Group:
R Amos¹, H Bulbeck², N G Burnet³, A Crellin⁴, D Eaton⁵, P Evans⁶, E Hall⁷, M A Hawkins⁸, K J Kirkby³, R Mackay⁹, D Sebag-Montefiore¹⁰, R Sharma¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Proton and Advanced Radiotherapy Group, Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.
² Brainstrust, Cowes, UK.
³ University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK; The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
⁴ NHS England National Clinical Lead Proton Beam Therapy, Leeds Cancer Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds, UK.
⁵ National Radiotherapy Trials Quality Assurance Group (RTTQA), Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, UK.
⁶ CVSSP, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK; National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, UK.
⁷ The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK.
⁸ CRUK MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology Gray Laboratories, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁹ Christie Medical Physics and Engineering, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
¹⁰ Radiotherapy Research Group, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; Leeds Cancer Centre, Leeds, UK. Electronic address: d.sebag-montefiore@leeds.ac.uk.
¹¹ NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Cancer Institute, London, UK.

PMID: 29551566
DOI: 10.1016/j.clon.2018.02.031

Abstract

The use of proton beam therapy (PBT) offers the opportunity to improve greater conformality of radiotherapy treatment delivery in some patients. However, it is associated with a high capital cost and the need to build new dedicated facilities. We discuss how the global radiotherapy community can respond to the challenge of producing high-quality evidence of clinical benefit from PBT in adult patients. In the UK, the National Cancer Research Institute-funded Clinical and Radiotherapy Translational group has established the PBT Clinical Trial Strategy Group. An eight-point framework is described that can assist the development and delivery of high-quality clinical trials.

Keywords: Proton beam therapy; clinical trials; external beam radiotherapy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Clinical Trials as Topic*
Humans
Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
Proton Therapy*
Research Design*
United Kingdom

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding