Proton Therapy in Pediatric Cancer Treatment

This educational activity consists of recorded presentations from Advances in the Management of Oncology Patients held in Orlando,Florida on April 6-8, 2011.
Of the estimated 13,000 children diagnosed annually in the United States with cancer, half have some type of bone, soft tissue or organ cancer. These cancers could potentially be treated with proton beam therapy—a targeted radiation to the cancerous site that avoids surrounding healthy tissue—which is critically important when treating pediatric patients whose tissues are still developing. This presentation will describe proton beam therapy and the rationale for its clinical use, as well as provide the cancer diagnoses that can be treated with this therapy.

Learning Objectives
At the end of this educational activity, participants should be able to

1. Compare and contrast proton beam from conventional x-ray (photon) therapy and the rationale for its clinical use.
2. Identify cancer diagnoses treated with proton beam therapy.
3. Explain how proton beam therapy can improve clinical outcomes and reduce side effects in cancer patients.

Faculty
Christine E. Hill-Kayser, MD
Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Disclosures
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• Completing the entire activity
• Completing the Pre- and Post-Activity Assessments, Activity Evaluation, and Application for Certificate of Credit forms

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Sponsored By
This activity is sponsored by OptumHealth Education.

Commercial Support
This activity is supported by Allos Therapeutics, Amgen, Eisai, Novartis Oncology, Shire, Cephalon Oncology, genzyme, Millennium, Novartis, sanofi aventis, National Marrow Donor Program, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Purdue.

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