"New research by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has found that esophageal cancer patients treated with proton therapy experienced significantly less toxic side effects than patients treated with older radiation therapies.  Working with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Dallas Texas Michael Chuong MD an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the school compared two kinds of Xray radiation with proton therapy an innovative precise approach that targets tumors while minimizing harm to surrounding tissues.  The researchers looked at nearly  patients and found that proton therapy resulted in a significantly lower number of side effects including nausea blood abnormalities and loss of appetite. The results were presented on May  at the annual conference of the Particle Therapy Cooperative Group held in San Diego.  This evidence underscores the precision of proton therapy and how it can really make a difference in cancer patients lives said Dr. Chuong. Patients with esophageal cancer can suffer a range of side effects including nausea fatigue lack of appetite blood abnormalities and lung and heart problems. Proton therapy did not make a difference in all of these side effects but had significant effects on several. The results have particular relevance for the University of Maryland School of Medicine this fall the school will open the Maryland Proton Treatment Center MPTC. The center will provide one of the newest and highly precise forms of radiation therapy available pencil beam scanning PBS which targets tumors while significantly decreasing radiation doses to healthy tissue. This technique can precisely direct radiation to the most difficulttoreach tumors.  Proton therapy is just one of several new methods for treating cancer. Others include  Selective Internal Radiation Therapy a precision modality for treating patients with particularly difficulttoremove tumors involving the liver such as those from colorectal cancers   Gammapod a new highprecision noninvasive method of treating earlystage breast cancer   Thermal Therapies the use of heat in treating a broad spectrum of malignancies. The treatment works well for many kinds of tumors including those found in the brain esophagus lung head and neck prostate liver spinal cord and gastrointestinal system. It is also an important option for children with cancer and is expected to become an important option for some types of breast cancer. While most cancer patients are well served with todays stateoftheart radiation therapy technology up to  percent are expected to have a greater benefit from the new form of targeted proton beam therapy. Located at the University of Maryland BioPark the  squarefoot  million center is expected to treat about  patients a year. About the University of Maryland School of Medicine The University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in  and is the first public medical school in the United States and continues today as an innovative leader in accelerating innovation and discovery in medicine. The School of Medicine is the founding school of the University of Maryland and is an integral part of the campus University System of Maryland. Located on the University of Marylands Baltimore campus the School of Medicine works closely with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide a researchintensive academic and clinically based education. With  academic departments centers and institutes and a faculty of more than  physicians and research scientists plus more than  million in extramural funding the School is regarded as one of the leading biomedical research institutions in the U.S. with toptier faculty and programs in cancer brain science surgery and transplantation trauma and emergency medicine vaccine development and human genomics among other centers of excellence. The School is not only concerned with the health of the citizens of Maryland and the nation but also has a global presence with research and treatment facilities in more than  countries around the world.  medschool.umaryland.edu httpmedschool.umaryland.edu"