1455 – Proton Beam Therapy for patients supported under the Medical Treatment Overseas Program

Health Technology Assessment of PBT.

Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) is a medical procedure and a type of particle therapy to irradiate diseased tissue, most often in the treatment of cancer. PBT is a form of external beam radiation therapy that uses heavier particles (protons) instead of X-rays (photons), which are used in conventional radiotherapy. PBT may be used as primary treatment or as salvage therapy (in the case of recurrent disease or after failure of initial therapy).

While PBT is often used as monotherapy, it is also used as a ‘boost’ mechanism to conventional radiation therapy, or in combination with other modalities such as chemotherapy and surgery.

Type: Therapeutic

Patients with a diagnosis of one of the following conditions:

• chordoma of the axial skeleton (defined as the skull, vertebral column and bony pelvis);
• sarcoma of the axial skeleton;
• paediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumour;
• ocular melanoma;
• retinoblastoma;
• soft tissue sarcoma in close proximity to the axial skeleton (to include rhabdomyosarcoma);
• adenoid cystic carcinoma of the lacrimal or salivary glands;
• craniopharyngioma;
• intracranial germ cell tumour;
• neuroblastoma; and
• nephroblastoma.

• PASC meeting: 12 April 2017
• ESC meeting: 5 October 2018
• MSAC meeting: 22 - 23 November 2018 
   

Other relevant application: 1638 – Proton beam therapy for paediatric and rare cancers.