Find a Doctor or Practice Location

My clinical expertise is in the treatment of head and neck cancers and gastrointestinal cancers. Additionally, I have specialized training in brachytherapy, which consists of placing radioactive sources within, or directly adjacent to a tumor, as a means of delivering highly targeted radiation. I have experience in head and neck, prostate, and gastrointestinal brachytherapy, as well as intra-operative radiotherapy. I have a particular clinical interest in the re-treatment of patients who have undergone a prior course of radiation, through the integration of highly targeted techniques such as proton therapy and brachytherapy. I believe strongly in the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, and work closely with my surgical and medical oncology colleagues to optimize patient outcomes.

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Residency: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Fellowship: Mount Sinai Medical Center

American Brachytherapy Society, National American College of Radiology, National American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), National American Society of Clinical Oncology, National

Hospital Privileges:

• Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
• Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
• Pennsylvania Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.

Description of Research Expertise:

My research focuses on the multidisciplinary management of head and neck cancers, in particular novel strategies to understand and mitigate the toxicities associated with head and neck radiotherapy. Additionally, I am interested in identifying subsets of patients with HPV+ cancer who may benefit from treatment de-intensification, and conversely, those with high-risk disease who may benefit from novel targeted therapy and/or immunotherapy.

Selected Publications:

Dr. Boris Hristov: Radiation Oncology: A Question Based Review, 3rd Edition Wolters Kluwer Health : 2018 (Forthcoming).

Michael LaRiviere, Shannon O'Reilly, Alireza Fotouhi Ghiam, Samuel Swisher-McClure, Alexander Lin, Boon-Keng Kevin Teo, John Lukens: Clinically Significant Organ-at-risk Dose Reductions Are Achieved with IMRT Plan Optimization to Clinical Target Volume (CTV) with Setup Uncertainty Analysis ASTRO Annual Meeting 2018 : 2018.

Guttmann, D. M., Kobie, J., Grover, S., Lin, A., Lukens, J. N., Mitra, N., Rhodes, K. V., Feng, W., Swisher-McClure, S.: National disparities in treatment package time for resected locally advanced head and neck cancer and impact on overall survival Head Neck : 2018.

Caitlin Schonewolf, Hann-Hsiang Chao, David Guttmann, Samuel Swisher-McClure, Alireza Fotouhi Ghiam, Alexander Lin, John Lukens: Margin Status, Lymphovascular Invasion, and Number of Neck Levels Involved Predict Distant Failure in p16+ Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSCC) Following Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) ASTRO Annual Meeting 2018 : 2018.

Shabason, J. E., Chen, J., Apisarnthanarax, S., Damjanov, N., Giantonio, B., Loaiza-Bonilla, A., O'Dwyer, P. J., O'Hara, M., Reiss, K. A., Teitelbaum, U., Wissel, P., Drebin, J. A., Vollmer, C., Kochman, M., Mick, R., Vergara, N., Jhala, N., Doucette, A., Lukens, J. N., Plastaras, J. P., Metz, J. M., Ben-Josef, E.: A phase I dose escalation trial of nab-paclitaxel and fixed dose radiation in patients with unresectable or borderline resectable pancreatic cancer Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 81 (3): 609-614,2018.

Amit Maity, Rosemarie Mick, Alexander Huang, Sangeet George, Michael Farwell, John Lukens, Abigail Berman, Tara Mitchell, Joshua Bauml, Lynn Schuchter, Mark O'Hara, Lilie Lin, Angela DeMichele, John Christodouleas, Naomi Haas, Dana Patsch, Stephen Hahn, Andy Minn, E Wherry, Robert Vonderheide: A Phase I Trial Of Pembrolizumab With Hypofractionated Radiotherapy (HFRT) In Patients With Metastatic Cancers ASTRO Annual Meeting 2018 : 2018.

Baumann, B. C., Wei, J., Plastaras, J. P., Lukens, J. N., Damjanov, N., Hoteit, M., Hsu, C., Levine, M., Mondschein, J., Nadolski, G., Olthoff, K., Reiss, K. A., Rosen, M., Siegelman, E., Metz, J. M., Ben-Josef, E.: Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: High Rates of Local Control With Low Toxicity Am J Clin Oncol : 2018.

Sharma S, Ahn P, Lukens JN, Swisher-McClure S, Lin A: Quality of Life of Postoperative Photon Versus Proton Radiotherapy for Oropharynx Cancer International Journal of Particle Therapy : 2018.

Venigalla S, Plastaras J, Ben-Josef E, Wojcieszynski A, Chowdhry A, Metz J, Lukens JN, Mahmoud N, Shabason J, Reiss K: Comparative Effectiveness of Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation versus Upfront Surgery in the Management of Recto-Sigmoid Junction Cancer Clinical colorectal cancer : 2018.

Boimel PJ, Berman AT, Li J, Apisarnthanarax S, Both S, Lelionis K, Larson GL, Teitelbaum U, Lukens JN, Ben-Josef E, Metz JM, Plastaras JP: Proton beam reirradiation for locally recurrent pancreatic adenocarcinoma J Gastrointest Oncol. 8 (4): 665-674,2017.