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UF Health University of Florida
Radiation Oncology College of Medicine
Appointment info: 352-265-0287
Research Overview

Research Publications

The University of Florida Department of Radiation Oncology has led research efforts in the field for 60 years. In fact, our residents are some of the most published residents of any radiation oncology residency program in the United States. Peruse our most recent publications and research highlights below.

Dr. Kate HitchcockCurrent Research Highlights from Kathryn E. Hitchcock, MD, PhD, Chair:

  • Dr. Vidyasagar’s publication on treatment of cystic fibrosis patient with a careful mixture of amino acids, Selective amino acid formulation enhances anion secretion and restores function in cystic fibrosis mutations, represents a defining technology that will contribute significantly to UF’s reputation in the future.  People with cystic fibrosis have a problem in their cells that makes some of their membranes work incorrectly, leaving water and nutrients on one side when they should be on the other. Since our membranes govern all our vital functions (breathing, eating, reproduction), this is a grave condition that before modern medicine invariable led to an early death.  Now patients are surviving and thriving but still have big challenges to their quality of life.  Dr. Vidyasagar’s formulation aims to address those directly, and this publication shows him well on the way to success.  This is an issue closely related to our cancer patients since similar challenges with membrane transportation contribute significantly to the ill effects of cancer and cancer treatments on the body.
  • A paper like the one published here with our Dr. Julie Bradley as an author, Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy: An ASTRO/ASCO/SSO Clinical Practice Guideline, represents years of work in gaining consensus from physicians around the world about how best to treat patients in a specific cancer situation.  It is a significant honor to be an author of the resulting publication and Dr. Bradley’s contribution here demonstrates how well she is respected throughout the medical community, bringing that respect to UF as well.
  • Dr. Lucas Gomes Sapienza, new to our department, comes to us with an already accomplished research career as demonstrated by his publication this month in the premier radiation oncology journal.  He and his team (he is lead author) are looking at a challenging problem we face when saving women’s lives from cervical cancer: A systematic study on local failure events post chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer: understanding the impact of baseline lateral anatomical compartment involvement.  The ureters that normally carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder are often damaged by the cancer before treatment, and radiotherapy does not improve their function, may even in some cases independently cause ureters to stop working.  This is a grave situation since these are often young women and the loss of a kidney that is the natural result of such a blockage can greatly affect or even shorten their lives.  Here Dr. Sapienza and company have taken a careful look at when and why this type of damage occurs, a vital first step toward preventing it in the future.
  • Our Jacksonville physics team led by Dr. Park has published this month in Practical Radiation Oncology a paper looking at the effects of breast radiotherapy with protons on the lungs: Radiation-Induced Acute Lung Pneumonitis After Pencil-Beam Scanning Proton Treatment for Breast Cancer: Correlation with Dose-Volume Parameters and Optimization Objectives to Reduce Lung Toxicities.  This is a great article not only because proton breast radiotherapy is a relatively young field and requires close study to optimize its capabilities, but because this team has given us here some concrete, practical methods to optimize the radiation therapy plan without compromising lung safety.  This type of carefully considered guidance is incredibly valuable to both physicists and radiation oncologists in the field.
  • The brief update given here by Dr. Amdur, The Radiation Oncology Match in 2025: A New Steady-State?, is an interesting one, showing that after a period of instability there appears to be a new equilibrium between the number of radiation oncology residency positions in the United States and the number of applicants.  A hot topic that is likely to upset this balance, though, is the new law requiring a $100,000 payment to obtain an H1b visa.  Statistics show that the number of applicants to all US residencies will be heavily affected by this change, and as our paper shows, the current ability to fill radiation oncology residencies is heavily dependent on non-US citizen physicians.

All Faculty Publications:

(please note that some may be in process)

September 2025

  • Lucas Gomes Sapienza , Christopher G Morris, Paul G Okunieff
    1. A systematic study on local failure events post chemoradiotherapy for cervical cancer: understanding the impact of baseline lateral anatomical compartment involvement. Sapienza LG, Guitmann G, Morris CG, Okunieff PG, Ludwig MS, Gomes MJL, Benrubi ID, Hew KE. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2025 Sep 17:S0360-3016(25)06281-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2025.09.015. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40972906.
    2. (Understanding hydronephrosis occurrence by an individual-kidney level analysis of all events post-chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer – International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics)

June 2025

  • Hao-Wen Cheng, Jonathan Li, Sheng-Hsuan Sun, Guanghua Yan, Chihray Liu

Evaluation of the system accuracy of frameless stereotactic radiosurgery using a combination of cone beam CT, six degrees of freedom couch, and surface image-guided systems. Cheng HW, Li J, Sun SH, Yan G, Liu C. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2025 Jun;26(6):e70082. doi: 10.1002/acm2.70082. Epub 2025 Mar 22. PMID: 40119644 Free PMC article.

  • Matthew M Culbert, Teena Burchianti, Daniela Martir, Julie A Bradley

Empowering Self-advocacy for Breast Health: A Successful Educational Campaign on Breast Cancer Risk and Screening Recommendations. Culbert MM, Oladeru OT, Brooks ED, Burchianti T, Martir D, Vázquez V, Boucher H, Motaparthi A, Bradley JA. Am J Clin Oncol. 2025 Jul 3. doi: 10.1097/COC.0000000000001219. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40607985.

  • Daniel Indelicato
    1. Preoperative Radiotherapy in Patients With Localized Ewing Sarcoma Enrolled on AEWS1031: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group. Indelicato DJ, Callan AK, Ahmed SK, Krailo M, DelRocco N, Buxton AB, Binitie OT, Christ AB, Kessell S, Chuba PJ, Nadel HR, Pawel BR, Gorlick R, Reed DR, DuBois SG, Janeway KA, Leavey P, Mascarenhas L, Laack NN. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 May 25:e31820. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31820. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40415235.
    2. Assessing Acute and Long-Term Toxicities of Proton Radiation Therapy in Pediatric Pelvic Tumors: Findings From the Pediatric Proton Consortium Registry. Almohtasib J, Indelicato DJ, Paulino AC, Mihalcik S, Lee J, Ermoian R, Chang JH, Kwok Y, Perentesis J, Perkins SM, Hill-Kayser C, Zeina W, Laack NN, Yock TI, Gargollo PC. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Jul 14:e31811. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31811. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40660625.
  • Perry Johnson, Daniel Indelicato

Bridging the proton gap: A proton therapy consultation service for Canadian radiation oncologists. Kim I, Parent A, Holwell M, Craig T, Lindsay P, Le H, Tsang Y, Johnson PB, Indelicato DJ, Liu FF, Tsang DS. Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol. 2025 Jun 11;35:100320. doi: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2025.100320. PMID: 40585858; PMCID: PMC12205771.

  • Perry Johnson, Nancy Price Mendenhall, Curtis Bryant

Modelling of a double-scattering proton therapy nozzle using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code and analysis of linear energy transfer in patients treated for prostate cancer. Klitgaard R, Fjæra LF, Stokkevåg CH, Johnson P, Artz M, Mendenhall NP, Bryant C, Muren LP. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2025 Jun;26(6):e70032. doi: 10.1002/acm2.70032. Epub 2025 Mar 19. PMID: 40105033 Free PMC article.

  • William Mendenhall

International Consensus Guideline on Delineation of the Clinical Target Volumes (CTV) at Different Dose Levels for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (2024 Version). Lin SJ, Guo QJ, Liu Q, Ng WT, Ahn YC, AlHussain H, Chan AW, Chow J, Chua M, Corry J, Han F, Grégoire V, Harrington KJ, Hu CS, Jensen K, Langendijk JA, Le QT, Lee NY, Lee V, Lin JC, Ma J, Mendenhall WM, O’Sullivan B, Ozyar E, Rosenthal DI, Tao YG, Wang RS, Wee J, Xu ZY, Yi JL, Yom SS, Fan DM, Mai HQ, Pan JJ, Lee AWM. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2025 May 24:S0360-3016(25)00487-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2025.05.019. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40419028.

  • Lucas Sapienza

Understanding hydronephrosis occurrence by an individual-kidney level analysis of all events post-chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer. Sapienza LG, Chapman CH, Jhavar S, et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2025 May 8:S0360-3016(25)00430-4. PMID: 40348198. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2025.04.033.

  • Elizabeth Thompson, Daniel J Indelicato

Rosai-Dorfman Disease: The Role of Radiation Therapy. Thompson E, Indelicato DJ, Scarborough MT, Nasri E, Lagmay J, Horowitz DP, Amdur RJ. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2025 Jun 10:S1879-8500(25)00154-7. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2025.06.001. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40505721.

  • Raymond B Mailhot Vega
    1. Curative Treatment of Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma With Doxorubicin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine and Consolidation Radiotherapy: A Systematic Review and Suggested Recommendations. Hernández-Benítez J, López-Azcarraga A, Flerlage JE, Castellino S, Aristizabal P, Hoppe BS, Milgrom SA, de Paula MJA, Mailhot Vega RB. JCO Glob Oncol. 2025 Jun;11:e2400485. doi: 10.1200/GO-24-00485. Epub 2025 Jun 26. PMID: 40570263.
    2. Comparison of Contemporary Radiotherapy Approaches in Combined Modality Treatment on Pediatric High-Risk Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma Study: AHOD 1331. Hoppe BS, Mailhot-Vega RB, Renfro LA, Pei Q, Charpentier AM, Parikh RR, Roberts KB, Keller FG, Punnett A, Parsons S, Voss SD, Alzaraki A, McCarten KM, Flampouri S, Kessel S, Wu Y, Cho SY, Kelly KM, Castellino SM, Hodgson DC. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2025 Jun 28:S0360-3016(25)04518-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2025.06.3876. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40588069.
    3. Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer: ASCO Guideline Clinical Insights. Park KU, Vega RBM, Shams S, Hawley J, Somerfield MR, Thompson AM, Torres MA. JCO Oncol Pract. 2025 Jun 18:OP2500447. doi: 10.1200/OP-25-00447. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40532132.
  • Raymond B. Mailhot Vega, Daniel J. Indelicato, Julie A. Bradley, Christopher G. Morris, Nancy P. Mendenhall

Association between brain substructure dose and scholastic performance in pediatric brain tumor survivors who received radiotherapy. Mailhot Vega RB, Indelicato DJ, Bradley JA, Mobley EM, Viviers E, Morris CG, Markatia A, Ramahi Y, Delgado CF, Mendenhall NP, Raghubar KP, Crisp AM, Miller MD. International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics. Accepted July 8, 2025. In Press. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.09.033

May 2025

  • Amanda Acevedo , Daniel J Indelicato, Ryan J Brisson, Julie A Bradley, Raymond B Mailhot Vega, Roi Dagan

Letter to the Editor: Proton Therapy for Locally Advanced Unresectable Ameloblastoma in a Child. Acevedo A, Indelicato DJ, Brisson RJ, Collier AB 3rd, Bradley JA, Mailhot Vega RB, Esler C, Wilne S, Dagan R. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 May 4:e31773. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31773. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40320682 No abstract available.

  • Mark E. Artz, Michael J. Vieceli, Jiyeon Park, Mohammad Saki, Yawei Zhang, Nancy P. Mendenhall, Perry B. Johnson, Hardev S. Grewal

Method for determining a Prostate Cancer LET Sensitivity Index (PCLSI) using tumour-specific DDR mutations for proton RBE. Artz ME, Vieceli MJ, Park J, et al. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice. 2025;24:e6. doi:10.1017/S1460396925000044.

  • Mark E. Artz, Hardev S. Grewal, Yawei Zhang, Perry B. Johnson, Mohammad Saki, Jiyeon Park

Operational Improvement of a Proton Therapy System From Reduced Energy Layer Switching Time. Mark E. Artz, Hardev S. Grewal, Yawei Zhang, Perry B. Johnson, Mohammad Saki, Niek Schreuder, Eric D. Brooks, Jiyeon Park, International Journal of Particle Therapy, Volume 16, 2025, 100742, ISSN 2331-5180, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpt.2025.100742.

  • Daniel Indelicato
    1. Twenty Years of the Paediatric Radiation Oncology Society. Gaze MN, Beldjoudi G, Carrie C, Freeman C, Indelicato DJ, Kortmann RD, Kristensen I, Laprie A, Lassen Y, Mahajan A, Marcus KJ, Njiraini PN, Parkes J, Paulino AC, Qureshi BM, Robles BG, Seiersen K, Timmermann B, Esiashvili N. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 May 4:e31764. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31764. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40320663
    2. Outcomes following radiation therapy for embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes (ETMR): results from the Pediatric Proton/Photon Consortium Registry (PPCR). Krisch JM, Ermoian RP, Indelicato DJ, Lee JY, Perentesis JP, Perkins SM, Laack NN 2nd, Chang JH, MacEwan IJ, Wolden SL, Wang D, Yock TI, Aridgides PD. J Neurooncol. 2025 May 13. doi: 10.1007/s11060-025-05065-2. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40358803
  • Erika Kollitz, Sheng-Hsuan Sun, Kathryn Hitchcock, Alexandra De Leo, Amanda Schwarz, Luke Maloney, Jonathan Li, Chihray Liu, Guanghua Yan

Patient setup variation on Elekta Unity and its impact on adaptive planning. Yan M, Kollitz E, Sun SH, Hitchcock K, De Leo A, Schwarz A, Maloney L, Li J, Liu C, Yan G. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2025 Apr;26(4):e70016. doi: 10.1002/acm2.70016. Epub 2025 Feb 12. PMID: 39940123 Free PMC article.

  • Jonathan G Li, Alexandra De Leo

A Comparison of Radiosurgical Planning Techniques for the Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia. Doxsee K, Paddick I, Friedman WA, Li JG, De Leo A, Koch M, Bova FJ. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2025 May-Jun;15(3):e258-e266. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2024.11.014. Epub 2025 Feb 27. PMID: 40019414.

  • Dietmar Siemann

A Novel in vivo Rat Mesentery Model for Studying Tumor Spheroid-Induced Microvascular Remodeling. Lampejo AO, Fonseca Perez L, Girgis MM, Sharma B, Siemann DW, Murfee WL. J Vasc Res. 2025;62(2):63-77. doi: 10.1159/000543011. Epub 2024 Dec 19. PMID: 39701053 Free PMC article.

  • Dietmar Siemann, Wendy Malorzo

Transdisciplinary team-based cancer research: a model for training the next generation of cancer researchers. Siemann DW, Malorzo W. Int J Radiat Biol. 2025 May 6:1-7. doi: 10.1080/09553002.2025.2494546. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40326798 Review.

Click here to peruse all of our research publications:

UF Radiation Oncology Research Publications

 

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