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Systematic Review: Charged-Particle Radiation Therapy for Cancer
Annals of Internal Medicine, 10/20/09

Terasawa T et al. – Currently, 7 centers in the United States have facilities for particle (proton)–beam irradiation, and at least 4 are under construction, each costing between $100 and $225 million. In 243 eligible articles, charged–particle radiation therapy was used alone or in combination with other interventions for common (for example, lung, prostate, or breast) or uncommon (for example, skull–base tumors or uveal melanomas) types of cancer. Of 243 articles, 185 were single–group retrospective studies. Eight randomized and 9 nonrandomized clinical trials compared treatments with or without charged particles. This review found that published evidence about the benefits and harms of charged–particle radiation therapy was derived mostly from small, single–group, retrospective studies. Of the 17 studies that compared treatments with or without charged particles, none reported statistically significant or important differences in overall or cancer–specific survival or in total serious adverse events.

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