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Purpose: Children are particularly prone to the late side effects of normal tissue irradiation. For this reason, pediatric solid tumors are a commonly cited indication for proton therapy worldwide. The aim of this survey was to assess pediatric patterns of care across proton centers in the United States. Patients and Methods: A survey was developed and distributed annually to each clinical proton therapy facility in the United States in operation during the years of 2010, 2011, and 2012. Anonymized patient information including age range, tumor site, and diagnosis were collected annually for each patient 18 years old or younger treated between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012. Results: There was a 100% response rate from the United States proton therapy centers in operation for each year surveyed. All facilities treated at least 1 pediatric patient each year. A total of 694 pediatric patients were treated in 2012, an increase from 613 patients in 2011 and 465 patients in 2010. Fifty-seven pe...

Purpose: Survival rates for children with cancer have increased dramatically over several decades, revealing a host of late effects associated with treatment. Proton therapy promises to reduce late effects because of its ability to better localize dose, but the question is by how much? Pediatric health outcomes must be prospectively studied to determine what the margin of benefit is. To facilitate such research, a consortium consisting of pediatric investigators from the US was formed. The goals of the Pediatric Proton Consortium Registry (PPCR) study are to create a comprehensive database of pediatric patients treated with proton radiation therapy in the United States to be used and accessed by participating institutions, to describe the patterns of follow-up at proton facilities, and to describe the acute and late effects in the children treated with proton therapy. Patients and Methods: REDCap is the platform for the ∼600-field database which was designed to capture baseline, treatment, and fo...