From the September 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Additionally, several important prospective trials have been initiated that will provide clarity on proton therapy’s effectiveness when compared to photon-based radiation therapy in the management of head and neck cancer. First, a consortium of radiation centers opened a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) to IMRT for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, which is the most common head and neck cancer in the U.S. The study’s principal investigator, Dr. Steve Frank, a physician at MD Anderson Cancer Center, seeks to determine whether proton therapy reduces the risk for late occurring severe side effects after radiation therapy for oropharynx cancer when compared to IMRT. The study was opened in 2013 and will enroll 360 patients, and results are expected within a few years of closing patient accrual.
Additionally, Dr. Nancy Lee, a principal investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, has opened a randomized phase II study featuring proton therapy vs. IMRT for patients requiring head and neck radiation therapy. The study will evaluate whether proton therapy reduces the risk for acute side effects related to radiation therapy. Secondary end points in both studies will ensure that cure rates provided by proton therapy are maintained when compared to IMRT.
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The work of these principal investigators, among others, will help to provide the evidence needed to support the delivery of proton therapy for head and neck cancer patients in the future. When combined with lower costs of proton beam development and delivery, these efforts will likely support the cost-effectiveness of proton therapy for head and neck cancer in the new age of cancer care. This step is crucial because it is necessary to convince major insurers and organizations like the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), which set practice guidelines to support the delivery of proton therapy. With more universal acceptance by these stakeholders, proton therapy will soon be the standard of care for patients with head and neck cancer in the U.S.
About the author: Curtis Bryant, M.D., MPH, is an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Florida. He specializes in head and neck cancer and prostate cancer treatment and research at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, Fla.
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