Proton Therapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: Early Clinical Experience and Current Challenges

Sandra Nuyts; Heleen Bollen; Sweet Ping Ng; June Corry; Avraham Eisbruch; William M Mendenhall; Robert Smee; Primoz Strojan; Wai Tong Ng; Alfio Ferlito

doi:10.3390/cancers14112587

Proton Therapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: Early Clinical Experience and Current Challenges

Cancers (Basel). 2022 May 24;14(11):2587. doi: 10.3390/cancers14112587.

Authors

Sandra Nuyts^{1

2}, Heleen Bollen^{1

2}, Sweet Ping Ng³, June Corry⁴, Avraham Eisbruch⁵, William M Mendenhall⁶, Robert Smee⁷, Primoz Strojan⁸, Wai Tong Ng⁹, Alfio Ferlito¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Experimental Radiotherapy, Department of Oncology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
² Department of Oncology, Leuven Cancer Institute, Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
³ Department of Radiation Oncology, Austin Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
⁴ Division of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Vincent's Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
⁵ Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁶ Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32209, USA.
⁷ Department of Radiation Oncology, The Prince of Wales Cancer Centre, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
⁸ Department of Radiation Oncology, Institute of Oncology, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁹ Department of Clinical Oncology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
¹⁰ Coordinator of the International Head and Neck Scientific Group, 35125 Padua, Italy.

Abstract

Proton therapy (PT) is a promising development in radiation oncology, with the potential to further improve outcomes for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). By utilizing the finite range of protons, healthy tissue can be spared from beam exit doses that would otherwise be irradiated with photon-based treatments. Current evidence on PT for HNSCC is limited to comparative dosimetric analyses and retrospective single-institution series. As a consequence, the recognized indications for the reimbursement of PT remain scarce in most countries. Nevertheless, approximately 100 PT centers are in operation worldwide, and initial experiences for HNSCC are being reported. This review aims to summarize the results of the early clinical experience with PT for HNSCC and the challenges that are currently faced.

Keywords: early experience; head and neck cancer; proton therapy.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

SB/1SE9822N; 18B4122N/Research Foundation - Flanders