Modalities

Proton therapy: the modern radiotherapy workhorse

Every year, hundreds of thousands of cancer patients receive radiation therapy. Most use X-rays — beams of high-energy light that pass through the body, depositing radiation not just in the tumour but in the healthy tissue around it. Proton therapy changes this. A proton beam travels through the body and releases the vast majority of its energy at a precise, controllable depth — then stops. The tumour receives the full dose; the tissue beyond it receives almost none.

For patients, this means fewer side effects, lower risk of secondary cancers, and the ability to treat tumours that sit close to critical structures like the spinal cord, brainstem, or optic nerve. More than 100 proton centres now operate worldwide, and the technology is increasingly the standard of care for childhood cancers, skull base tumours, and head and neck cancers.