New frontiers in proton therapy : applications in breast cancer

Purpose of review: The aim of this article is to review published data on proton therapy in the multimodality treatment of breast cancer so as to provide an overview of the advantages and critical issues relating to this irradiation modality. Recent findings: In-silico studies show a clear advantage in terms of dose homogeneity to the target and dose reduction to the non-target structures including heart, lungs, and healthy breast tissues. Clinical studies have shown the feasibility of proton therapy in breast cancer and allowed optimizing the technique by using multiple beams and intensity modulation. Summary: Proton therapy is able to optimize the dose to the target and to reduce the irradiation of the healthy tissues. Clinical studies are expected to show a decreased risk of late side effects with potential improvement of the quality of life of breast cancer patients.