Proton therapy in Italy

The proton therapy is a type of hadrotherapy (radiation therapy using hadrons) which uses a bundle of protons to irradiate a diseased biological tissue in the treatment of tumors.

The main advantage of proton therapy is the ability to localize the dose of ionizing radiation more precisely than other types of radiotherapy. However, there is still no evidence at all whether this is a global advantage over other less expensive treatments.

In Italy there are two centers doing proton therapy treatments:

• the CNAO in Pavia established in 2001
• the Center of Protonterapia di Trento operational since 22 October 2014