A new study published in The Lancet shows that a type of radiation treatment called proton beam therapy can help patients with oropharyngeal cancer live longer and experience fewer side effects compared to traditional photon (X-ray) therapy.
The study, which included researchers from Mayo Clinic and other centers across the United States, marks an important step forward in cancer care.
Oropharyngeal cancer is a type of throat cancer that affects the middle part of the throat. It has become more common in the U.S., largely due to infections caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).
The standard treatment has been photon radiation therapy, which uses X-rays to kill cancer cells. While effective, this method can also harm nearby healthy tissues, causing serious side effects such as pain, difficulty swallowing, and a weakened jawbone.
In recent years, proton therapy has been widely used for treating children’s cancers because it causes fewer short- and long-term side effects. But its benefits for adult patients have been harder to prove because adult cancer studies haven’t always tracked side effects carefully or over long periods of time.
To address this, researchers launched the first-ever phase 3 clinical trial comparing traditional photon radiation to proton beam therapy in adults with oropharyngeal cancer. Mayo Clinic was one of 18 medical centers that took part in the study.
Dr. Daniel Ma, a radiation doctor at Mayo Clinic, led the clinic’s involvement, working closely with Dr. Robert Foote and Dr. Samir Patel.
Dr. Ma explained that proton therapy works differently from traditional radiation. Protons are tiny charged particles that can be targeted to stop at a specific point inside the body.
This means doctors can focus the treatment more precisely on the tumor and avoid important structures like the voice box, swallowing muscles, and mouth. As a result, healthy tissue nearby is less likely to be damaged.
The study found that proton therapy had many advantages. It reduced the amount of immune system damage by 15% compared to photon therapy. Patients also had a 13% lower risk of serious swallowing problems and were 13% less likely to need feeding tubes. These improvements can make a big difference in a patient’s quality of life.
But perhaps the most surprising result was in overall survival. Both treatments worked well to control the cancer, so researchers expected similar survival rates.
However, after five years, 91% of proton therapy patients were still alive, compared to 81% of those who received photon therapy. This survival benefit only became clear after three to five years of follow-up, highlighting the importance of long-term studies.
Dr. Ma believes that the better survival with proton therapy may be due to fewer side effects and less stress on the body’s immune system. He strongly supports using proton therapy as a standard treatment for patients with oropharyngeal cancer who are eligible for it.
Dr. Nadia Laack, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic, said the study shows that reducing treatment side effects isn’t just about comfort—it can also improve long-term outcomes. As cancer treatments get better and people live longer, making those treatments safer is more important than ever.
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