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Ramesh Rengan, MD, PhD, FASTRO

Professor and Chair

Overview

Dr. Rengan is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington. Dr. Rengan specializes in the treatment of thoracic malignancies, ocular tumors, renal cell carcinoma, and prostate cancer.

Patient Care Philosophy

“My philosophy is fairly simple—the patients come first. I try to spend time getting to know each patient from their initial visit through their entire journey through the treatment process. Each patient has distinct mental and emotional needs and I try to do my best to tailor my approach to suit those needs. That can only come from spending time and truly listening to the patient. Although, I may have greater medical knowledge about their disease, they have a far better understanding of their physical and emotional needs. In order to be successful in caring for the patient, a partnership must be forged between the oncologist and the patient, with each contributing to the development of a treatment plan that speaks to all of the needs of the patient.”

Education and Training

Medical Degree: University of Michigan Medical School, 2001

Doctoral Degree: University of Michigan Medical School, 2001

Residency: Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 2006

Selected Publications from a Total of 112

McNew LK, Bowen SR, Gopan O, Nyflot MJ, Patel SA, Zeng J, Rengan R. The relationship between cardiac radiation dose and mediastinal lymph node involvement in stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients. Adv Radiat Oncol. 2017 Feb 1;2(2):192-196. doi: 10.1016/j.adro.2017.01.008.

Rwigema JM, Verma V, Lin L, Berman AT, Levin WP, Evans TL, Aggarwal C, Rengan R, Langer C, Cohen RB, Simone CB 2nd. Prospective study of proton-beam radiation therapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer. Cancer. 2017 Jul 5. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30870.

Zeng J, Rengan R. Dose Escalation Optimization in Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: The Right Dose, in the Right Location, to the Right Patient, at the Right Time. JAMA Oncol. 2017 Jun 1. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.1344.

Kalbasi A, Rengan R. Clinical experiences of combining immunotherapy and radiation therapy in non-small cell lung cancer: lessons from melanoma. Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2017 Apr;6(2):169-177. doi: 10.21037/tlcr.2017.03.03.

Lee E, Zeng J, Miyaoka RS, Saini J, Kinahan PE, Sandison GA, Wong T, Vesselle HJ, Rengan R, Bowen SR. Functional lung avoidance and response-adaptive escalation (FLARE) RT: Multimodality plan dosimetry of a precision radiation oncology strategy. Med Phys. 2017 Jul;44(7):3418-3429. doi: 10.1002/mp.12308.

Dhami G, Zeng J, Vesselle HJ, Kinahan PE, Miyaoka RS, Patel SA, Rengan R, Bowen SR. Framework for radiation pneumonitis risk stratification based on anatomic and perfused lung dosimetry. Strahlenther Onkol. 2017 May;193(5):410-418. doi: 10.1007/s00066-017-1114-0.

Remick JS, Schonewolf C, Gabriel P, Doucette A, Levin WP, Kucharczuk JC, Singhal S, Pechet TTV, Rengan R, Simone CB 2nd, Berman AT. First Clinical Report of Proton Beam Therapy for Postoperative Radiotherapy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Clin Lung Cancer. 2017 Jul;18(4):364-371. doi: 10.1016/j.cllc.2016.12.009.

Chao HH, Berman AT, Simone CB 2nd, Ciunci C, Gabriel P, Lin H, Both S, Langer C, Lelionis K, Rengan R, Hahn SM, Prabhu K, Fagundes M, Hartsell W, Mick R, Plastaras JP. Multi-Institutional Prospective Study of Reirradiation with Proton Beam Radiotherapy for Locoregionally Recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. J Thorac Oncol. 2017 Feb;12(2):281-292. doi: 10.1016/j.jtho.2016.10.018.

Richard PJ, Rengan R.Lung Cancer (Auckl). Oligometastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: current treatment strategies. 2016 Nov 4;7:129-140. doi: 10.2147/LCTT.S101639.

Maquilan G, Grover S, Xanthopoulos E, Evans TL, Aggarwal C, Langer CJ, Cohen RB, Stevenson JP, Simone CB 2nd, Rengan R. Analysis of the Relationship Between Response to Chemotherapy and Response to Radiation Therapy in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Sequential Treatment. Am J Clin Oncol. 2016 Apr 20.

Research Interests

  • Immunologic mediators of the immunorad or abscopal effect
  • Preclinical models of radiation and immune modulation
  • Functional imaging to improve the therapeutic ration in NSCLC
  • Proton beam radiotherapy in solid tumors including thoracic malignancies and ocular melanoma
  • Improving radiation treatment delivery in resource constrained nations

Professional Involvement

  • American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Member, Science Council
  • Particle Therapy Cooperative Oncology Group – North America (PTCOG-NA), Executive Committee
  • Particle Therapy Cooperative Oncology Group (PTCOG), Thoracic, Optic Subcommittee
  • Proton Collaborative Group (PCG) Member, Executive Council

Educational Involvement

  • American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Education Committee, Thoracic Strategic Planning Committee

Funding

  • ADMIRAL: Adaptive-Dose to Mediastinum with Immunotherapy and RAdiation in Locally-advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
  • ADMIRAL: Personalized radiation therapy through functional lung avoidance and response-adaptive dose escalation: utilizing multimodal molecular imaging to improve the therapeutic ratio.