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Standard treatment for locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer consists of concurrent chemotherapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). In IMRT, the intensity of the photon beams (x-rays) is adjusted to increase precision around the cancer site while sparing the surrounding tissue. However, IMRT still causes substantial toxicity, including dysphagia that can lead to feeding-tube dependence.
Early studies have shown that intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), which uses charged protons instead of photons, may be safer than IMRT and just as effective. Now, researchers have compared the two approaches directly in a phase 3, multicenter, randomized, noninferiority trial involving 440 adults with stage 3 or 4 oropharyngeal c…