Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer

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Proton therapy is an advanced treatment that sends radiation to the exact size, shape and depth of your prostate tumor. It allows your physician to treat your cancer while helping to protect healthy tissue nearby. With prostate cancer, patients often have a wide range of treatment options, like surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation and more. If radiation is needed, proton therapy can be a safer choice.

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Phone: 206.306.2800
Fax: 206.374.2645

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Kevin's Answer / Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center - Proton Therapy

"Research all of the treatment options available to you, as opposed to taking the first recommendation you receive. It’s critical that you take an active part in your care and that you choose the treatment option that best meets your needs. That’s why I chose proton therapy."

— Reggie, prostate cancer patient

How Proton Therapy Can Treat Prostate Cancer

With standard X-ray radiation therapy, the radiation dose is highest right where the X-rays enter your body. The X-rays keep giving off radiation as they go through your tumor and the tissue beyond. With proton radiation therapy, treatment is sent right to your tumor. The goal is for less radiation to reach your surrounding tissue.

More precision means less damage to healthy cells in your urethra, bladder, bowel and sexual organs. This can translate to fewer short- and long-term side effects and secondary cancers (which can be caused by treatment).

If you have prostate cancer, the radiation oncologists at our proton therapy facility can decide if proton therapy is right for you and tell you more about this option.

Treatment for prostate cancer
These pictures show treatment for a prostate tumor. The colored areas get radiation. The gray and white areas do not. With proton therapy (left), less healthy tissue is exposed to radiation. With standard X-ray radiation therapy (right), more healthy tissue is exposed.

Why Choose Fred Hutch for Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Fewer than 100 centers worldwide offer this state-of-the-art treatment. Fred Hutch Cancer Center – Proton Therapy, led by world-class experts, is the only proton therapy center in the Pacific Northwest. When it opened in 2013, it was the only one within a 1,000-mile radius. Our proton therapy providers have extensive experience. As we put together your treatment plan, we’ll carefully consider whether proton therapy is the best option for you.

Learn More About Proton Therapy at Fred Hutch
Dr. Ramesh Rengan
Dr. Ramesh Rengan, senior vice president and director of the Radiation Oncology Division at Fred Hutch

Pencil-Beam Scanning

Our radiation oncologists use pencil-beam scanning (PBS) to treat patients with proton therapy. PBS “paints” your prostate with a lot of very thin, very exact beams of protons. The beams are accurate down to millimeters. PBS sends very fast pulses of protons to each planned spot within the tumor until the entire cancer is treated. This method can lower the amount of radiation to healthy tissue even more. That may mean your physician can send a higher, more effective dose to your tumor.

Watch a Video About PBS for Prostate Cancer

Proton Therapy Facts

  • Proton therapy may help preserve your testosterone level and lower your risk of secondary tumors in the future.
  • Treatments are safe, noninvasive (no cuts to the skin are needed) and painless for most patients, helping you recover faster and keep living your life.
  • Appointments usually take 15–60 minutes. You do not need to stay overnight in a hospital and can go on with your normal routine before and after each visit.
  • Proton therapy may be an option for you even if you’ve already had radiation for cancer. In fact, it may be your only option for getting more radiation treatment.
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved proton therapy for clinical use in 1988. More than 200,000 people worldwide have had this form of treatment.

Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer FAQ

Proton therapy is a type of external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT), which means a machine sends a high-energy beam to the target area inside your body. The experience is similar to getting an X-ray.

You will lie down on a treatment bed and be moved into position with our robotic positioning system. Your radiation therapist will make adjustments. We will ask you to lie still during setup and while the proton beam is on, which usually takes about one minute. 

During the actual treatment, you will not feel or see the proton beam. You may hear some clicking from the equipment around you.

Learn more about proton therapy and getting proton therapy at Fred Hutch.

At Fred Hutch, we use proton therapy most often for prostate tumors that are anatomically complex. The precision of proton therapy helps us deliver radiation to these tumors and still limit radiation to nearby healthy tissues, like the bladder or rectum.

Most patients have few or no side effects from proton therapy. When side effects do happen, they are usually minor and only after many treatments. Based on where your tumor is, side effects may include skin irritation in the path of the proton beam, tiredness and hair loss in the area being treated. Before you start treatment, your physician will talk with you about side effects you might have.

Because side effects aren’t common, you may not need to do anything special to prepare. But your Fred Hutch care team will talk with you about your exact situation and any steps you might want to take.

If you do find you’re having side effects, let your care team know. We’re here to help ease your experience in any way we can.