Proton Therapy for Breast Cancer

Radiation therapy is used as a component of therapy for all stages of breast cancer. Proton therapy is a unique type of radiation treatment that can precisely target and deliver high radiation doses to a tumor to kill cancerous cells. Proton therapy may be especially beneficial for breast cancer patients by minimizing damage to nearby tissue and critical organs such as the heart and lungs.

The MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center treats the following types of breast cancers: 

• Ductal carcinoma in Situ
• Inflammatory breast cancer
• Invasive ductal carcinoma
• Invasive lobular carcinoma
• Triple negative breast cancer

Proton therapy is able to treat patients with early stage breast cancer who undergo breast conserving surgery with minimal or no tissue rearrangement with proton partial breast irradiation on trial. We also treat patients who require radiation after mastectomy on a trial comparing proton post mastectomy radiation therapy to traditional photon post mastectomy radiation therapy. Additionally, we treat select patients with breast cancer who previously received radiation therapy close to where we need to target.

Customized breast cancer treatment

MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center is able to offer a customized breast cancer treatment including the most advanced form of proton treatment called pencil beam scanning.

Pencil beam scanning proton therapy delivers a single, narrow proton beam that is magnetically swept across the tumor, depositing radiation like a painter's brush, without the need to construct beam-shaping devices.

The advantage lies in the beam's capacity to approach the tumor from multiple directions, creating a "U" shape around critical structures and minimizing the dose to them during treatment.