Wilson Vasthi Christensen, McDonough James, Tochner Zelig
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2005 Aug;27(8):444-8. doi: 10.1097/01.mph.0000174030.55485.54.
The greatest challenge for the treatment of children with cancer is to attain the highest probability of cure with the least morbidity. This has stimulated advances in radiotherapy technology. In recent literature published regarding proton radiation therapy (PRT) for pediatric cancer patients, PRT has been shown to have a distinct advantage over conventional photon therapy because of the ability to confine the high-dose treatment area to the tumor volume and minimize the radiation dose to the surrounding tissue. This is particularly important in children, in whom late effects of radiation to normal tissue can include developmental delay and increased risk of second malignant neoplasms. Several proton facilities are operating world-wide, and several medical centers in the United States and Europe are in the midst of planning and constructing new proton facilities. This may enlarge the role of radiation therapy in the multimodal management of children with cancer.
治疗儿童癌症的最大挑战是在发病率最低的情况下实现最高的治愈概率。这推动了放射治疗技术的进步。在最近发表的关于儿童癌症患者质子放射治疗（PRT）的文献中，PRT已被证明比传统光子治疗具有明显优势，因为它能够将高剂量治疗区域限制在肿瘤体积内，并将对周围组织的辐射剂量降至最低。这在儿童中尤为重要，因为正常组织受到辐射的晚期影响可能包括发育迟缓以及患第二种恶性肿瘤的风险增加。全球有几个质子治疗设施正在运行，美国和欧洲的几个医疗中心正在规划和建设新的质子治疗设施。这可能会扩大放射治疗在儿童癌症多模式管理中的作用。
