The latest treatment is highly effective at eliminating hard-to-treat cancers while causing minimal side effects.
Radiation side effects can be severe for many cancer patients. However, a new approach to delivering radiation has shown promising results in treating a difficult-to-target cancer, with the only reported side effect being mild skin discoloration, even nine months after treatment.
This innovative method, known as step-and-shoot proton arc therapy, was first used by physicians and scientists at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, to treat a patient.
Precise radiation with minimal tissue damage
Compared to traditional proton therapies, the step-and-shoot technique uses a proton beam to deliver radiation more precisely and continuously to the tumor site. The system is automated, reducing the lag time between radiation doses.
In contrast, other methods require manual adjustments, making them slower and potentially less accurate. Because the new technology allows doctors to target the tumor with greater precision, early results show that it protects nearby healthy tissue and organs, significantly reducing side effects. This outcome has been especially meaningful for 46-year-old Tiffiney Beard of Redford, Michigan, who received the treatment.
Beard was diagnosed in early 2024 with adenoid cystic carcinoma — a rare, highly invasive and often difficult-to-treat tumor — in her salivary gland.
“Managing this type of tumor is very difficult because of its natural tendency to be nerve-seeking,” said Rohan Deraniyagala, M.D., radiation oncologist, Corewell Health.
Avoiding traditional radiation complications
Dr. Deraniyagala said because these tumors like to target the body’s nerves, fighting them typically comes with many side effects like fatigue, jaw pain, difficulty eating or swallowing, loss of taste, headaches, and memory issues. In Beard’s case, the tumor had weaved its way into the nerves leading to her brain.
But thanks to this new type of treatment, Beard continues to be side-effect free. The treatment process also only took about 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for three months, which meant she didn’t have to miss work or lose out on family time.
“After having the tumor removed, which was about the size of a gumball, I had 33 proton therapy treatments in total and, amazingly, had no side effects and didn’t miss a day of work,” Beard said. “You hear a lot of stories about radiation side effects, and I just wasn’t having any.”
No signs of cancer after treatment
Beard completed her treatment in early August last year, and as of her last checkup, she is still showing no signs of cancer. From what Dr. Deraniyagala can tell, she has no radiation toxicity to other areas of her body, including her brain.
“It was nice to see a patient have no side effects with this treatment other than a little skin discoloration on the left side of her face,” he said.
Treatment side effects and outcomes can vary, but Dr. Deraniyagala is hopeful that other patients will have the same experience Beard did with this treatment.
“Proton beam therapies continue to evolve rapidly and while in this case, step-and-shoot proton arc therapy has proven to be highly effective so far for Tiffiney, it is just the latest step toward even better treatments down the road,” he said. “The fact that Tiffiney hardly experienced any side effects is a great outcome for this type of therapy and a good sign of even better things to come.”
Currently, physicians and scientists at Corewell Health’s William Beaumont University Proton Therapy Center are trialing a next-generation proton beam therapy, known as DynamicARC®, that has the potential to further transform cancer treatment. Through an active research collaboration with Ion Beam Application, an international proton therapy system manufacturer, Corewell Health is advancing the step-and-shoot proton arc technique by creating an even better targeted delivery system with no lag time in between radiation dosages and beam angles. DynamicARC® is expected to receive FDA approval next year.
Reference: “First Clinical Implementation of Step-and-Shoot Proton Arc Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer Treatment” by Peilin Liu, Xiaoda Cong, Jian Liang, Xiangkun Xu, Weili Zheng, Craig Stevens, Rohan Deraniyagala, Xiaoqiang Li and Xuanfeng Ding, 20 April 2025, International Journal of Particle Therapy.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpt.2025.100749
Beard’s case study was also presented by Dr. Deraniyagala at the International Symposium on Proton Therapy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 26, and will be at Particle Therapy Cooperative Group annual meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from June 2 to June 7.
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5 Comments
So, radiation is the number 1 reason for cancer in the first place. While targeted radiation destroys growing cancer cells it is also invasive and toxic to the body and is why we keep seeing reoccurring cancer diagnoses. Not only does the patient suffer painful and debilitating symptoms during any radiation or chemo treatment they are now more likely to have gone through all of it for nothing because the treatment itself will give them cancer in their future lives. Natural hormone therapy is the key to curing cancer but it does not profit as well as all these nonsense treatments and so cancer will never actually be cured. We will continue to be duped by Big Pharma into giving ourselves cancer instead.
Study Oncology a little bit more, especially the area of genetics.
Chalk one up in the win collum!
Radiation is as natural an aspect of our environment as water and air
Every person from the moment of conception is exposed to varying amounts of naturally occurring radiation from:
the foods we eat [e.g. a banana is a great source of Potassium, some of which is radioactive and is decaying to Argon at all times],
the air we breath [some of which contains Radon — an always radioactive gas which emits radiation as it decays],
the water we drink and bathe in is more or less radioactive depending on location and what minerals are in the soil,
the land upon which we walk and live [depending on where and what is under the soil],
and of course — we are constantly bombarded by primary and secondary cosmic rays — with significantly increased fluxes when we fly or if we live atop a mountain
Throughout our evolution we’ve developed methods to cope with radiation damage to our DNA and other aspects of living — or we would have become extinct long ago
You are cancer-free I take it.
This is a wonderful breakthrough – it’s very sad you don’t understand that.