A Brief History of the Development of Proton Therapy:
” To date, the most advanced photon beam delivery method is intensity-modulated (IM) radiation therapy (IMRT), which can deliver higher doses of radiotherapy to tumour targets while reducing the dose delivered to selected normal tissues. With IMRT, high doses to these selected normal tissues can be avoided by applying numerous radiation fields of varying intensities from different directions. But this requires increasing the volume of normal tissue that is irradiated (i.e. a higher integral dose); hence, one of the concerns of IMRT is that, over time, this exposure of more tissue to low-dose radiation will cause a second malignancy or other unwanted late normal tissue effect. “
PIONEERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROTON BEAM THERAPY
The cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator, was first conceived by Ernest Lawrence in 1929. It was built at Berkley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkley.
” In 1946, a Harvard particle physicist, Robert R. Wilson, proposed using proton beams for medical application. During his work collaborating with a team on the design of the Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory (HCL), he outlined the possible clinical applications of protons in a paper he titled “Radiological Use of Fast Protons.”
“The first people to receive proton beam therapy were treated with pituitary irradiation, to control metastatic breast cancer, at Berkley Radiation Laboratory in 1954.”
“James M. Slater, MD, whose determination to improve the quality of life for patients undergoing cancer treatment inspired him to use proton therapy for patient care and to champion and oversee creation of the world’s first hospital-based proton treatment center at Loma Linda University Health.”
“Today [01/02/2019] there are approximately 25 proton therapy centers in operation, with another 11 centers under construction or in development, according to the National Association for Proton Therapy.”
REFERENCES:
https://health.ucdavis.edu/synthesis/issues/fall_winter_06-07/features/history.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772792/
https://www.texascenterforprotontherapy.com/proton-therapy/history
http://tcr.amegroups.com/article/view/595/html
https://protons.com/proton-advantage/history-proton-radiation-therapy
ttps://www.protominternational.com/2018/05/history-of-proton-therapy
THE EVOLUTION OF PROTON THERAPY: ACCELERATING CANCER TREATMENT