Telephone +1.909.799.8300
©2013 Optivus Proton Therapy, Inc.
Optivus Proton Therapy, Inc. • PO Box 608 • Loma Linda, CA 92354
Proton therapy can be used to treat many types of cancer and some benign conditions. Continued research and the dedicated work of clinicians, assisted by the work of Optivus engineers, help to refine proton treatments and to discover new applications. Below is a partial list of some of the diseases currently treated with protons:
- Acoustic neuroma
- Arteriovenous malformation (AVMs)
- Brain tumors in children
- Chordomas and chondrosarcomas
- Isolated brain metastases
- Meningiomas
- Carcinoma of the nasopharynx
- Orbital and ocular tumors in children
- Locally advanced oropharynx cancer
- Pituitary adenomas
- Prostate cancer
- Sarcomas of the base of skull and spine in children
- Non-small lung cancer (medically inoperable)
- Uveal melanomas
What is proton therapy and how does it work?
Application
Proton therapy is a highly advanced and precise form of radiation therapy used in the treatment of many types of cancers and other diseases. Proton therapy has been used to treat almost 95,000 patients globally.
The characteristics of proton radiation allow clinicians to deliver full or higher doses of radiation while sparing surrounding healthy tissues and organs. Patients who are eligible to receive proton therapy, typically experience minimal to no side-effects during and after treatment.
Protons are stable, positively charged subatomic particles with a mass 1,800 times that of photons (used in conventional radiation therapy). Protons have the distinct ability to be controlled in 3 dimensions to the exact depth and shape of a tumor. As protons travel through the body interacting with tissues, their velocity slows until reaching the intended target – the tumor – where the bulk of the energy is released in a sharp burst (ionization), followed by a rapid decline in dose energy. This phenomenon is know as the Bragg Peak, (illustrated on the right.)
Since 1990, the Optivus system at the James M. Slater, MD, Proton Treatment and Research Center (JMSPTRC) in Loma Linda, CA, has safely treated more than 16,500 patients, delivering more than half-million individual treatments.
If you would like more information regarding treatment options at the JMSPTRC, please contact the facility directly at the following:
(800) 776-8667 (USA only)
