Radiation therapy (RT) plays a fundamental role in the treatment of malignant and benign brain tumors. Current state-of-the-art photon- and proton-based RT combines more conformal dose distribution of target volumes and accurate dose delivery while limiting the adverse radiation effects. PubMed was systematically searched from from 2000 to October 2023 to identify studies reporting outcomes related to treatment of central nervous system (CNS)/skull base tumors with PT in adults. Several studies have demonstrated that proton therapy (PT) provides a reduced dose to healthy brain parenchyma compared with photon-based (xRT) radiation techniques. However, whether dosimetric advantages translate into superior clinical outcomes for different adult brain tumors remains an open question. This review aims at critically reviewing the recent studies on PT in adult patients with brain tumors, including glioma, meningiomas, and chordomas, to explore its potential benefits compared with xRT.

Comprehensive Cancer Center Central Germany Leipzig Germany

Department of Radiation Oncology ACTREC TMH Tata Memorial Centre Homi Bhabha National Institute Mumbai India

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University and Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute Brno Czech Republic

Department of Radiation Oncology Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center University Hospital Heidelberg Heidelberg Germany

Department of Radiation Oncology Maastricht University Medical Center GROW School for Oncology and Reproduction Maastricht The Netherlands

Department of Radiation Oncology Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USA

Department of Radiation Oncology Moffitt Cancer Center Tampa Florida USA

Department of Radiation Oncology University of Leipzig Medical Center Leipzig Germany

Department of Radiological Sciences Oncology and Anatomical Pathology Sapienza University of Rome Policlinico Umberto 1 Rome Italy

Departments of Oncologic Sciences University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine Tampa Florida USA

IRCCS Neuromed Pozzilli IS Italy

Trento Proton Therapy Center Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari Trento Italy

Zobrazit více v PubMed

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