New research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center offers further evidence that proton therapy - specifically multi-field optimization intensity modulated proton therapy (MFO-IMPT) - may be a better treatment option for some patients, reducing the need for feeding tubes that pose risks for patients and that carry high costs for the healthcare system.

According to the authors of the study, published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Particle Therapy, it has been estimated that the direct cost of feeding tube use for a year is over $31,000 (and that estimate, from 2001, might even be dated). "While intensity-modulated radiation therapy is effective, it also comes at the cost of delivering radiation to nearby healthy tissue and the consequences associated with that additional radiation are serious for both the patient and the healthcare system," says Steven Frank, M.D., lead researcher and medical director of the Proton Therapy Center. "Our study adds to a growing body of research that shows proton therapy may offer vital clinical and quality of life benefits for patients. Reducing the need for feeding tubes is just one example of how we can help patients have a better treatment experience and also reduce healthcare costs."

In the study, Dr. Frank and his colleagues looked at patients treated for nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), a type of head and neck cancer that is rare in the U.S. but much more common in countries such as China and North Africa. The researchers found that only 20% of patients treated with MFO-IMPT - considered the "holy grail" by many radiation oncologists because it can deliver a potent and precise dose of protons to the most complicated tumors - needed feeding tubes. In contrast, 65% of patients treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy, also known as IMRT or x-ray therapy, the current standard treatment for this type of cancer, required feeding tube intervention.

This study builds upon previous research from the Proton Therapy Center that showed a decrease in the use of feeding tubes in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) patients treated with IMPT. In that study, published last year, patients needing feeding tubes decreased by more than 50% when treated with IMPT, compared to IMRT.