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Proton Therapy in Modern Cancer Treatment
Playlist
  • proton therapy
  • relative biological effectiveness
  • linear energy transfer
  • spread-out Bragg peak
  • complex DNA damage
  • radiosensitivity
  • radioresistance
  • clustered lesions
  • distal-edge effect
  • immunotherapy synergy
Video Introduction

This video is adapted from https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18050885

Proton therapy has emerged as an advanced radiotherapy modality due to its unique physical dose distribution and its distinct radiobiological properties. The finite range of protons in tissue enables highly conformal dose delivery with minimal exit dose, significantly reducing irradiation of surrounding normal tissues compared to photon-based radiotherapy. Beyond these physical advantages, proton beams exhibit a spatially varying linear energy transfer that increases toward the distal edge of the spread-out Bragg peak, leading to clustered and complex DNA damage that is more difficult for cancer cells to repair. This video integrates experimental, computational, and clinical evidence to examine how proton-induced DNA damage, relative biological effectiveness, oxygen effects, and non-targeted responses contribute to tumor control and normal tissue sparing. Comparative analyses with photon intensity-modulated radiotherapy demonstrate consistent reductions in acute and late toxicities across multiple tumor sites, particularly in pediatric patients and in tumors located near critical organs. This video also discusses emerging technologies, including pencil beam scanning, image-guided and adaptive proton therapy, compact accelerator systems, and ultra-high dose rate FLASH proton therapy, which collectively aim to enhance treatment precision, biological effectiveness, and accessibility. Together, these developments support proton therapy as a rapidly evolving modality with significant potential to improve therapeutic outcomes in modern oncology.

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If you have any further questions, please contact Encyclopedia Editorial Office.
Georgakilas, A.; Kalospyros, S.A.; Gkikoudi, A.; Koutsostathis, A.; Adamopoulou, A.; Vasilopoulos, S.N.; Rangos, V.; Stylianou-Markidou, E.; Pantalos, I.; Koumenis, C. Proton Therapy in Modern Cancer Treatment. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/video/1905 (accessed on 06 October 2026).
Georgakilas A, Kalospyros SA, Gkikoudi A, Koutsostathis A, Adamopoulou A, Vasilopoulos SN, et al. Proton Therapy in Modern Cancer Treatment. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/video/1905. Accessed October 06, 2026.
Georgakilas, Alexandros, Spyridon A. Kalospyros, Angeliki Gkikoudi, Athanasios Koutsostathis, Athanasia Adamopoulou, Spyridon N. Vasilopoulos, Vasileios Rangos, Erato Stylianou-Markidou, Ioannis Pantalos, Constantinos Koumenis. "Proton Therapy in Modern Cancer Treatment" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/video/1905 (accessed October 06, 2026).
Georgakilas, A., Kalospyros, S.A., Gkikoudi, A., Koutsostathis, A., Adamopoulou, A., Vasilopoulos, S.N., Rangos, V., Stylianou-Markidou, E., Pantalos, I., & Koumenis, C. (2026, September 30). Proton Therapy in Modern Cancer Treatment. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/video/1905
Georgakilas, Alexandros, et al. "Proton Therapy in Modern Cancer Treatment." Encyclopedia. Web. 30 September, 2026.
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