State of the Art Photon Therapy Versus Particle Therapy for Recurrent Head & Neck Tumors; a Planning Study

Given that the cost of proton therapy is considerably higher than that of conventional radiotherapy with photons, it is necessary to establish whether these higher costs are worthwhile in light of the expected advantages2,3,4. Thus, clear evidence of the situations in which proton therapy outperforms conventional photon treatment is needed. The investigators therefore aim to demonstrate through an in silico trial that proton therapy decrease the amount of irradiated normal tissue and, consequently, the risk of side effects in the surrounding normal tissue as well as the risk of secondary tumors. The same overall treatment time and an equal number of fractions will be used for both treatment modalities wherever possible. The most optimal technique for each individual patient, based on objective criteria related to limiting dose to normal tissue, will be prescribed by the institution concerned for each treatment option.