About this study
Children with solid tumors or Hodgkin lymphoma may get proton therapy to treat their cancer. Before treatment starts, doctors use scans to make a radiation plan. But a child's body or the tumor can change during treatment. These changes may affect how the proton therapy reaches the tumor. This study will test a regular schedule of extra scans to see if the radiation plan needs to change.
Patients in this study will receive proton therapy and have extra CT scans. They will have MRI scans if the doctor thinks they are needed. These scans will usually happen every other week during regular clinic visits. Patients may have scans every week if doctors find changes that could affect the treatment plan.
Extra scans will show if the tumor or body has changed. Doctors will use the scans to see if these changes affect the radiation plan. If needed, they will make a new plan. If there are no major changes, the same plan will be used. The goal is to send the right amount of therapeutic radiation to the tumor while protecting healthy parts of the body.
Researchers want to learn how often radiation plans need to change during proton therapy. They want to learn which tumor types or parts of the body are most likely to need these changes. They will also study whether scans that are already used each day to position patients can help find body changes that affect treatment.
The extra scans may help doctors make proton therapy more accurate. The study may also help future patients.
Eligibility overview
- Diagnosed with an eligible solid tumor or Hodgkin lymphoma
- Receiving proton therapy at St. Jude
- Plan to receive more than 5 proton therapy treatments
- Able to have the imaging needed for the study