Current practice for selection of adult patients for proton therapy across Europe
Tambas, M. van der Laan, H. P. Steenbakkers, R. Doyen, J. Timmermann, B. Orlandi, E. Hoyer, M. Haustermans, K. Georg, P. Burnet, Neil G
Tambas, M.
van der Laan, H. P.
Steenbakkers, R.
Doyen, J.
Timmermann, B.
Orlandi, E.
Hoyer, M.
Haustermans, K.
Georg, P.
Burnet, Neil G
Citations
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Abstract
Purpose or Objective
Among individual proton therapy (PT) centres and European countries, there are major differences regarding
patient selection for PT. This is especially true for adult patients who would normally be treated with photon
therapy but may benefit from the delivery of PT instead. To obtain insight in the current practice in Europe,
we performed a survey on the different selection methods currently applied in the European PT centres.
Materials and Methods
We first designed electronic questionnaires for eight different tumour sites. The questionnaires consisted of
multiple choice, checkbox and open questions regarding the application of PT for adult patients. We focused
on four main topics including indications and patient selection methods and criteria, reimbursement, clinical
and preclinical on-going or planned studies, and the average number of patients treated with PT per year.
Results
Links to the online questionnaires were sent to 23 European PT centers of which 19 (83%) participated. Major
variability existed regarding the number of tumor types treated with PT (average: 4; range: 1-8) among the
participating centres (Figure 1). All centers treated central nervous system tumours (CNS), while tumours of
the head and neck cancer (HNC) were treated in 79% , lymphoma in 47%, gastrointestinal in 47%, breast in
32%, prostate in 26%, lung in 26% and gynecological cancers in 11 % of the centers. reimbursement issues (29%), technical limitations (20%), and lack of patient referral (13%). Interestingly,
limited treatment capacity was the least reported factor (3%) for not treating a specific tumour type with PT Conclusion
Across European PT centres, CNS tumours and HNC are the most frequently treated tumour types. Most
centres use indication protocols. Interestingly, some countries are more conservative in the number of cancers
treated with PT than others. Lack of evidence for PT and reimbursement issues are the most commonly
reported reasons for not treating specific tumour types with PT rather than limited treatment capacity.
Authors
Tambas, M.
van der Laan, H. P.
Steenbakkers, R.
Doyen, J.
Timmermann, B.
Orlandi, E.
Hoyer, M.
Haustermans, K.
Georg, P.
Burnet, Neil G
Kirkby, Karen J
Gregoire, V.
Calugaru, V.
Troost, E. G.
Hoebers, F.
Calvo, F. A.
Widder, J.
Eberle, F.
van Vulpen, M.
Maingon, P.
Skora, T.
Weber, D. C.
Bergfeldt, K.
Kubes, J.
Langendijk, J. A.
van der Laan, H. P.
Steenbakkers, R.
Doyen, J.
Timmermann, B.
Orlandi, E.
Hoyer, M.
Haustermans, K.
Georg, P.
Burnet, Neil G
Kirkby, Karen J
Gregoire, V.
Calugaru, V.
Troost, E. G.
Hoebers, F.
Calvo, F. A.
Widder, J.
Eberle, F.
van Vulpen, M.
Maingon, P.
Skora, T.
Weber, D. C.
Bergfeldt, K.
Kubes, J.
Langendijk, J. A.
Description
Date
2021
Publisher
Collections
Keywords
Type
Meetings and Proceedings
Citation
Tambas M, van der Laan HP, Steenbakkers R, Doyen J, Timmermann B, Orlandi E, et al. Current practice for selection of adult patients for proton therapy across Europe. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2021;161:S240-S1.