Dr. Crane on the Use of Proton Therapy and the MR-Linear Accelerator in GI Malignancies

Christopher Crane, MD, vice chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the emergence and success of new technologies in the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies.

Proton therapy for liver tumors and image guided-therapies like the MR-linear accelerator enable physicians to deliver more precise treatment to tumors near the GI tract. These treatment modalities are producing better outcomes and relieving doctors of dosage restrictions. Though many tumors can be controlled and cured with high enough doses of radiation, the GI tract is very sensitive to radiation. If radiation is administered indiscriminately, doctors can only provide a palliative dose.

For the first time in 40 years, specifically in pancreatic cancer, doctors can administer 2 to 3 times the normal dose of radiation to these malignancies.