For over a decade, UF Health Proton Therapy Institute has offered patients an advanced, effective head and neck cancer treatment option. Proton therapy is more precise than traditional radiation, allowing our physicians to deliver more powerful doses of radiation directly to the tumor site, sparing healthy tissue and reducing side effects.1,2,3,4
What is Proton Therapy?
Proton therapy can be a valuable form of radiation treatment for many patients with head and neck cancer. Proton therapy is a type of radiation that can be stopped at a prescribed depth in tissue, whereas conventional radiation continues beyond the tumor. This unique feature of proton therapy can be used to decrease the radiation dose to the nearby tissues. In head and neck cancer, this means reduced radiation exposure to sensitive tissues like the jawbone, salivary glands, eyes and spinal cord, reducing complications like bone injury and permanent dryness of the mouth.
Head and Neck Cancers Best Treated with Proton Therapy
- Tumors of cranial nerves
- Schwannoma (acoustic neuroma)
- Esthesioneuroblastoma
- Orbital tumors
- Optic nerve sheath meningioma
- Optic nerve glioma
- Lacrimal gland/lacrimal sac tumors
- Head and neck cancers
- Nasal cavity and paranasal sinus
- Nasopharnyx
- Skin with perineural invasion
- Oropharynx: tonsil, base of tongue
- Skull base and spine
- Chordomas
- Chondrosarcomas
Proton therapy can be used as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with surgery and chemotherapy. Since the anatomy of the head and neck is complex, the best course of treatment is determined by the extent and location of the cancer, and your medical condition. Our physicians can help you determine if proton therapy is right for you.
UF Health Proton Therapy Cancer Experts
As a major non-profit academic medical center, the University of Florida Health Proton Therapy Institute has treated more than 11,000 patients and led the way for innovative cancer care in the Southeast U.S. since 2006. As an academic health center, our published research is setting the standards for proton therapy cancer care worldwide, with dozens of clinical trials and more than 350 published research articles in peer-reviewed journals.
When you become a patient at UF Health Proton Therapy Institute, you are assured of receiving the highest quality cancer care as measured by state and national standards. We are committed to delivering the best possible patient outcomes. Our 125+ employees are dedicated to delivering proton cancer treatment in a way that takes the entire patient into account, so you can keep living life to the fullest.
1 Dagan R, Bryant CS, Li Z, Yeung D, Justice J, Dzieglewiski P, Werning J, Fernandes R, Pirgousis P, Lanza DC, Morris CG, Mendenhall WM. Outcomes of Sinonasal Cancer Treated With Proton Therapy. 2016 May; 95(1):377-85. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2016.02.019. Epub 2016 Feb 11. https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(16)00135-8/fulltext
2 Patel SH, Wang Z, Wong WW, Hassan Murad M, Buckey CR, Mohammed K, Alahdab F, Altayar O, Nabhan M, Schild SE, Foote RL. Charged Particle Therapy Versus Photon Therapy for Paranasal Sinus and Nasal Cavity Malignant Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Lancet Oncol. 2014 June 27. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(14)70268-2/fulltext
3 Gunn GB, Blanchard P, Garden AS, Zhu XR, Fuller CD, Mohames AS, Morrison WH, Phan J, Beadle BM, Skinner HD, Sturgis EM, Kies MS, Hutcheson KA, Rosenthal DI, Mohan R, Gillin MT, Frank SJ. Cliniical Outcomes and Patterns of Disease Recurrence After Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy for Oropharyngeal Squamous Carcinoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016 Feb 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5474303/pdf/nihms863370.pdf
4 Sio TT, Lin HK, Shi Q, Gunn GB, Cleeland CS, Lee JJ, Hernandez M, Blanchard P, Thaker NG, Phan J, Rosenthal DI, Garden AS, Morrison WH, Fuller CD, Mendoza TR, Mohan R, Shelley Wang, X, Frank SJ. Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT) versus Intensity-Modulated Photon Radiotherapy (IMRT) for Oropharyngeal Cancer: First Comparative Results of Patient-Reported Outcomes. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016 July 15; 95(4): 1107–1114. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2016.02.044. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409532/pdf/nihms861539.pdf
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