When Particle Therapy May Be Considered: Clinical Situations
Particle therapy is not appropriate for every cancer patient. Surgery, systemic therapy, conventional radiation therapy, or another local treatment may be the better option.
Particle therapy may be considered in selected situations, including:
- Tumors located close to critical organs or structures
- Re-irradiation after previous radiation therapy
- Locally recurrent tumors when surgery or other local therapies are limited
- Unresectable or medically inoperable tumors
- Selected locally advanced cancers
- Children and adolescents, when reducing long-term radiation exposure is especially important
For re-irradiation, the hospital usually needs the previous radiation field, total dose, fractionation schedule, and treatment dates.
Clinical review considers the cancer type and stage, extent of disease, tumor location, prior treatment, recent imaging, general condition, and treatment timing.
The hospital determines whether particle therapy is technically feasible and clinically appropriate for the individual case.
APIS coordinates communication and document submission with relevant Korean hospitals for selected international patients.
