Reducing Side Effects and Increasing Survival for People with Head and Neck Cancer

The proton therapy community made groundbreaking progress in December 2025 when The Lancet published a first-of-its-kind study that shows a rare combination of benefits with both reduced side effects and improved survival for head and neck cancer patients.

The multi-institutional clinical trial is the largest randomized Phase III trial to date comparing proton therapy to traditional radiation therapy. The study randomized 440 patients at 21 sites across the U.S., including 17 proton centers.

Key Findings:

• 10% improvement in overall survival — at five years from treatment, 90.9% of proton patients were alive compared to 81% of traditional radiation patients
• Significant reduction in side effects, including less feeding tube dependence, less dry mouth, better swallowing and less immune system suppression

Impact:

The study provides strong evidence for the acceptance of proton therapy as the standard of care for patients with oropharyngeal cancer, the type of head and neck cancer in the clinical trial. It shows that people treated with protons for head and neck cancer may live longer and have better quality of life during and after treatment than people treated with traditional radiation.

Reviewed Feb. 18, 2026, by Nancy P. Mendenhall, MD