AG Experimental Radiation Oncology

Cancer therapy, specifically radiotherapy, and post-radiotherapy management has significantly advanced over years. These improvements often focused on the disease with minimum emphasis on quality of life for the patient or treatment-related side effects. I envision that the next stage of best clinical practice is to find new and innovative ways to put the patient back at the center of cancer care and move away from disease-centered treatments. To reach this goal, we need to improve our understanding of how the patient’s status as the “host” of the disease influences tumor physiology, and how in turn tumors, their microenvironment, and cancer treatment affect patients’ overall health. To enhance patient outcomes, our lab aims to answer these two important questions: (I) How do conditions of the “host” impact the development of therapeutic resistance and treatment-related toxicities in radiotherapy, and (II) What is the role of patient’s overall health status on biomarkers, the tumor microenvironment, and clinical outcomes in radiotherapy.

Elucidating the impact of Tumor-Host Interactions on therapeutic responses will be critical to effectively manipulate these forces to benefit (radiation) treatment outcomes and to reduce toxicities. Treating the patient, not only their disease, must be the focus of patient-centered precision oncology.