Research
Our team in the Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology department focuses on improving the outcomes of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers who receive radiation treatment. Our physicians lead and develop advanced clinical trials to test novel therapeutics in combination with radiation treatment.
Our research team, comprised of physicians, scientists, physicists and more, uses innovative techniques to analyze imaging, pathologic, molecular, biomarker and microbiome data to predict disease outcomes and design novel personalized treatment strategies for patients with GI cancers.
Our studies contribute to new understandings of advanced radiation treatment technologies. These include magnetic resonance imaging guided linear accelerator (MR LINAC) and proton beam therapy, in order to evolve highly targeted treatment approaches for a variety of disease sites, including cancers of the pancreas, liver, rectum and anus.
The long-term benefit of these studies is to improve disease-free survival and lower treatment toxicities in GI cancer patients and survivors. Our research is collaborative and multidisciplinary. We leverage partnerships with many divisions and departments across MD Anderson as well as translational, epidemiological and statistical research tools to optimize cancer care and the outcomes of our patients.