Background: Adolescent and young adult cancer patients are at high risk of developing radiation-associated side effects after treatment. Proton beam radiation therapy might reduce the risk of these side effects for this population without compromising treatment efficacy.
Methods: We review the current literature describing the utility of proton beam radiation therapy in the treatment of central nervous system tumors, sarcomas, breast cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma for the adolescent and young adult cancer population.
Results: Proton beam radiation therapy has utility for the treatment of certain cancers in the young adult population. Preliminary data suggest reduced radiation dose to normal tissues, which might reduce radiation-associated toxicities. Research is ongoing to further establish the role of proton therapy in this population.
Conclusion: This report highlights the potential utility of proton beam radiation for certain adolescent young adult cancers, especially with reducing radiation doses to organs at risk and thereby potentially lowering risks of certain treatment-associated toxicities.
Keywords: adolescents; cancer; proton therapy; young adults.