Is proton therapy experimental?
Proton therapy has been offered for more than 50 years and is not considered experimental. About 55,000 people worldwide have received proton therapy at centers in Europe, Asia and the United States. It was first used to treat patients in 1955 in a research setting, but its use was limited because diagnostic imaging techniques could not accurately pinpoint tumors. Following advances made in imaging technology such as CT, MRI, and PET scans, the first hospital-based proton treatment center opened in California in 1990 at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Since then, nearly 15,000 people have received proton therapy in the United States.
No, proton therapy is not experimental. Proton therapy was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients in 1988. It has been used to treat patients since its first medical application in mid-1950s and Medicare and Medicaid began covering the procedure in 2000.1 To date, more than 60,000 people worldwide have received proton therapy at centers in Europe, Asia and the United States.
