Abstract
Proton beam therapy plays an important role in the management of a variety of pediatric conditions including medulloblastoma, craniopharyngioma, ependymoma, low-grade glioma, germ cell tumors, retinoblastoma, pediatric lymphoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma. There is data to suggest that proton beam therapy reduces long-term morbidity from irradiation compared with photon therapy, including reducing the risk of development of secondary cancers in children. There are special simulation and treatment planning considerations when treating children compared with adults including the potential need for anesthesia in the youngest of this childhood patient population. Pediatric patients should be treated at specialized centers by a subspecialized, multidisciplinary team and be placed on clinical trials whenever feasible. Proton beam therapy shall continue to play an important role in the safe and effective radiotherapeutic management of a variety of pediatric conditions.
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Yajnik, S. (2013). Proton Therapy for Pediatric Conditions. In: Proton Beam Therapy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5298-0_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5298-0_3
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