John Nicholas Lukens, MD

Radiation Oncology
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Penn Radiation Oncology Perelman - 2nd Floor
Make an appointmentCall 800-789-7366
Headshot of John Nicholas Lukens, MD
Penn Medicine Provider

About me

  • Chief, Head & Neck Service, Radiation Oncology
  • Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology in Dermatology

I am an Assistant Professor and Site Chief of Head and Neck Cancer in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. I treat head and neck and skin cancer patients. I work in a multi-disciplinary setting collaborating with head and neck surgeons, Mohs surgeons, and medical oncologists to care for a complex patient population.  

My research interests include de-intensification trials for favorable risk HPV+ oropharyngeal SCC patients, and in this capacity I served as the Principal Investigator of a clinical trial enrolling 150 HPV+ OPSCC patients decreasing both radiation dose and volumes, and correlating outcomes with circulating HPV DNA. 

Another research interest is the integration of immunotherapy into the treatment of metastatic melanoma patients, investigating the use of high dose radiation to salvage responses to melanoma patients not responding to immunotherapy, and correlating with expansion of the T cell receptor repertoire. I now serve as a co-project-leader of a randomized clinical trial investigating dual checkpoint therapy (Ipi/Nivo) +/- hypofractionated RT for patient with metastatic melanoma. 

My education and training

  • Medical School: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
  • Residency: University of Pennsylvania Health System
  • Fellowship: Mount Sinai Medical Center

Reviews

Average Rating

459 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

Anonymous
April 2026
all good
Anonymous
April 2026
again i believe in dr lukens and he's a great doctor
Anonymous
April 2026
dr. lukens was very professional.
Anonymous
April 2026
i think dr lukens is brilliant and compassionate. i always enjoy visiting with him.

Insurance accepted

Please contact the practice and/or the member services department of your insurance company for specific details before receiving services. Providers may participate in some, but not all, products offered by a health plan; providers may also accept plans at some practice locations but not others.

Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Lukens is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and Conditions

Research

Publications

Lin SK, Deitermann AM, Hunter ER, Wang SY, Valdes Morales KL, Lubeck M, Miller CJ, Etzkorn JR, Sobanko JF, Higgins HW 2nd, Walker JL, Zhang J, Cannady SB, Rajasekaran K, Brody RM, Kovach SJ 3rd, Chang B, Lin IC, Fischer JP, Lukens JN, Cohen JV, Mitchell TC, Amaravadi RK, Mehta S, Briceño CA, McMurray SL Mohs-facilitated excision: A case series of a multidisciplinary approach to reduce local recurrence of advanced keratinocyte carcinomas , J Am Acad Dermatol. : 2026

Messing I, Linkowski L, Riina MD, Berger M, Baron J, Wang X, Kallan M, Hubbeling HG, Lustig RA, Dorsey JF, Kurtz G, Nagda S, Lukens JN, Flowers A, Lee JYK, Amankulor NM, Jackson C, Mohan S, Amaravadi RK, Schuchter LM, Huang AC, Mitchell TC, Alonso-Basanta M, Lebow ES Outcomes after SRS and ipilimumab plus nivolumab for melanoma brain metastases following prior immune checkpoint inhibitor or targeted therapy , Oncologist: 2026

Cahn BA, Zhang R, Sidwell AM, Adam CM, Tiv J, Murrar R, Koh J, Griffin T, Nadir U, Yi MD, Ahmed A, Ma M, Koza E, Haq M, Shi V, Bale AE, Lewin JM, Christensen SR, Waldman A, Harmon CB, Alt-Holland A, Arkin LM, Morrison JC, Bogart K, Gregory MD, Lohman ME, Rossi A, Marghoob AA, Goldberg L, Jiang SB, Giordano CN, Choi JN, Teng JMC, Mittal BB, Vidimos AT, Leffell DJ, Xu YG, Haber R, Storrs PA, Tsoukas M, Samie FH, Bickers DR, Nehal KS, Mosterd K, Billingsley EM, Epstein EH Jr, Elston D; Gorlin Syndrome Work Group; Alam M Clinical practice guidelines for the management of basal cell carcinoma in Gorlin syndrome , J Am Acad Dermatol.: 2026

Frank SJ, Busse PM, Lee JJ, Rosenthal DI, Hernandez M, Swanson DM, Garden AS, Gunn GB, Patel SH, Snider JW, Ma DJ, Molitoris JK, Lee NY, Parvathaneni U, McDonald MW, Kalman NS, Lin A, Mohammed N, Henson C, Hyde C, Bajaj GK, Katz SR, Dagan R, Morrison WH, Reddy JP, Fuller CD, Shah SJ, Phan J, Chronowski GM, Mayo L, Sturgis EM, Ferrarotto R, Zhu XR, Zhang X, Wang L, Hutcheson KA, El-Naggar AK, Moreno AC, Lee A, Spiotto MT, Gross ND, Lai SY, Liao JJ, Paly J, Liao Z, Foote RL Proton versus photon radiotherapy for patients with oropharyngeal cancer in the USA: a multicentre, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority phase 3 trial , Lancet: 2026

Lukens JN, Riina MD, Weinstein G, MacDuffie E, Ramkissoon A, Baron J, Berger M, Messing I, Gentile M, Maxwell R, Ojerholm E, Swisher-McClure S, Santos AG, Porier K, Basu D, Brody R, Cannady S, Carey R, Chalian A, Newman J, Rajasekaran K, Rassekh C, Shanti R, Cohen RB, Singh A, Sun L, Montone K, Lin A Long-Term Results of a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of Radiation Volume and Dose Deintensification Following Transoral Robotic Surgery and Neck Dissection for Human Papillomavirus-Associated Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma , Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys.: 2026

Deng J, Lukens JN, Murphy BA, McMenamin E, Rajasekaran K, Quinn RJ, Cohn JC, Schlessinger W, Andersen LP, Spinelli BA, Lin A Photobiomodulation in Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer-Related Chronic Lymphedema: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial , Integr Cancer Ther.: 2026

Trifoi MD, Morales KV, Frankel D, Lin SK, Deitermann AM, Haynes D, Lubeck M, Etzkorn JR, Sobanko JF, Giordano CN, Walker JL, Zhang J, Lewis DJ, Higgins HW 2nd, Miura JT, Karakousis GC, Rajasekaran K, Cannady SB, Brody RM, Mitchell TC, Amaravadi RK, Lukens JN, Miller CJ. Compliance with guidelines and timeliness of sentinel lymph node biopsy for Merkel cell carcinoma treated with Mohs micrographic surgery versus conventional excision at a tertiary academic center. , J Am Acad Dermatol.: 2025

Deng J, Murphy BA, Andersen LP, McMenamin E, Lukens JN, Cohn JC, Rajasekaran K, Quinn RJ, Spinelli BA, Lin A. Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a lymphedema and fibrosis self-management program for head and neck cancer survivors: a pilot randomized controlled trial. , Oral Oncol.: 2025

Ghanian A, DiBona J, Duda L, Xu X, Lukens JN, Pearce T, Ehrhardt M, Rook A, Durham A, Maity A, Flesner B. Preliminary evaluation of the safety and feasibility of toll-like receptor ligand CB101 combined with hypofractionated radiation therapy in canine head and neck cancer: a pilot study. , Vet Oncol., 2(1): 2025

Sannigrahi MK, Raghav L, Rich DJ, Schrank TP, Califano JA, Lukens JN, Sun L, Morgan IM, Cohen RB, Lin A, Liu X, Brown EJ, You J, Mirabello L, Mishra SK, Shimunov D, Brody RM, Pearson AT, Gimotty PA, Diab A, Jalaly JB, Basu D Tumor-intrinsic and immune-related features associated with treatment failure in human papillomavirus-related oropharyngeal cancer. , J Natl Cancer Inst, 117(7): 2025,1366-1376