Proton radiation therapy for chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the skull base

Mure than 500 patients with chordomas and low-grade chondrosarcomas of the skull base have undergone fractionated proton radiation therapy since 1475. Maximum surgical resection followed by high-dose irradiation resulted in d urable tumor control and superior results in the majority of patients, comp ared with conventional x-ray treatment. Some complications have been observ ed, but the rate of serious toxicities appears to be acceptable. Patients w ith chondrosarcomas fare better than patients with chordomas. Small tumor s ize and prior surgical decompression of dose limiting structures are also a ssociated with improved tumor control.