LOMA LINDA, Calif., Aug. 18 (UPI) -- California physicians using proton beam therapy to treat cancer patients say the new technique is much better than standard radiation.
Whereas conventional radiation burns everything in its path, sometimes damaging healthy organs near the tumor, proton beam therapy shoots proton particles programmed precisely when and where to explode, releasing all their energy to destroy cancer cells only, ABC News reported Wednesday.
"We can shape the beam more accurately, hitting targets with more precision," said Dr. Jerry Slater, clinical director of Loma Linda's Proton Therapy Center.
The particles can be fired through an opening made to match exactly a tumor's irregular shape, which means doctors can target inoperable tumors.
"We can radiate, for example, around the eye, and treat a tumor very close to the eye, and have no effect on the eye," said Dr. James Cox, head of radiation oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Doctors can also hit a "U-shaped" tumor wrapped around the spinal nerves, leaving the nerves untouched.
