A new study has found that people with throat cancer may live longer if they are treated with a newer type of radiation therapy called proton therapy, compared to the standard method used in hospitals today.
The study was published in The Lancet and led by doctors from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. It is the first major research to show that proton therapy not only helps patients live longer but also improves their quality of life.
Throat cancer, also called oropharyngeal cancer, affects parts of the throat, such as the tonsils or the base of the tongue. These areas are close to other important parts of the body like the spinal cord and salivary glands.
That makes treatment challenging because traditional radiation can also damage nearby healthy tissues. This is why proton therapy may be a better choice for some patients.
Proton therapy, also known as IMPT, is different from traditional radiation therapy (IMRT). Regular radiation uses photons that pass through the body and can harm tissues beyond the cancer. In contrast, proton therapy uses particles that stop exactly at the tumor. This means less damage to healthy parts of the body, which can reduce side effects.
In this large study, 440 people with stage III or IV throat cancer were randomly assigned to receive either proton therapy or standard radiation. These patients were treated at 21 locations in the United States.
After five years, researchers found that 90.9% of the patients who got proton therapy were still alive, compared to 81% of those who received traditional radiation. This difference was big enough to show that proton therapy can help people live longer.
The study also looked at how treatment affected patients’ daily lives. People who got proton therapy had fewer side effects. They were less likely to have trouble swallowing, need a feeding tube, or suffer from dry mouth. They were also less likely to experience a drop in certain white blood cells that help fight infection.
The three-year survival rates without the cancer getting worse were about the same for both groups—around 82% for proton therapy and 83% for traditional radiation. But by the five-year mark, the proton group had a slightly higher rate of cancer control (81.3% versus 76.2%).
Doctors say both types of radiation therapy are good treatments for throat cancer. However, proton therapy seems to offer an extra benefit for people with advanced cases. It reduces the chances of severe side effects and may help more patients live longer.
This study is especially important because it was carefully designed and included a large number of patients. It also considered other important factors like whether patients had HPV, their smoking history, and whether they had chemotherapy before radiation.
In summary, this new research gives strong support for using proton therapy in people with serious throat cancer. It shows that the treatment is not only safe but may be better for helping patients survive and feel better during and after their treatment.
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The study is published in The Lancet.
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