Daniel Indelicato, MD, Professor, Mendenhall Endowed Chair, and Associate Vice Chair of the UF Department of Radiation Oncology, has been awarded a one-year, $160,000 NIH/NCI grant for the United States Pediatric Proton Therapy study.
This is a prospective cohort study including pediatric cancer patients treated with proton therapy and a comparison group of similar patients treated with photon therapy. It is part of a broader effort by the Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to quantify second cancer risks associated with ionizing radiation exposures in pediatric cancer patients.
REB has a specific interest in the risk of second tumors following proton therapy in children due to concerns regarding the possibility of whole-body neutron scatter causing second tumors.
Dr. Indelicato (right) and the pediatric radiotherapy team at the University of Florida are national leaders in the study of radiation carcinogenesis and authors of multiple peer reviewed articles in this domain (see below: 33565257[1], 21383606[2], 21236597[3], 20418026[4])
Over the past 15 years, childhood cancer has been a research priority at the University of Florida Health Proton Therapy Institute. As one of the largest pediatric proton therapy programs in North America, nearly 2000 children have participated in clinical outcome studies sponsored by the University of Florida. The resulting body of real-world evidence and practical dose-effect models have advanced the use radiotherapy worldwide.
For more information about NCI, visit https://www.cancer.gov/.
References:
[1] Indelicato DJ, Bates JE, Mailhot Vega RB, Rotondo RL, Hoppe BS, Morris CG, Looi WS, Sandler ES, Aldana PR, Bradley JA. Second tumor risk in children treated with proton therapy. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021 Jul;68(7):e28941. doi: 10.1002/pbc.28941. Epub 2021 Feb 9. PMID: 33565257.
[2] Galloway, Thomas J., et al. “Second Tumors in Pediatric Patients Treated with Radiotherapy to the Central Nervous System.” American Journal of Clinical Oncology, vol. 35, no. 3, 2012, pp. 279-83.
[3] Galloway, Thomas J., et al. “Analysis of Dose at the Site of Second Tumor Formation After Radiotherapy to the Central Nervous System.” International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, vol. 82, no. 1, 2012, pp. 90-4.
[4] Thomas J. Galloway, Daniel J. Indelicato, Robert J. Amdur, Erika L. Swanson, Christopher G. Morris, Robert B. Marcus. Favorable Outcomes of Pediatric Patients Treated with Radiotherapy to the Central Nervous System Who Develop Radiation-Induced Meningiomas, International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, Volume 79, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 117-120, ISSN 0360-3016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2009.10.045.
