John Nicholas Lukens

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John Nicholas Lukens, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Department: Radiation Oncology

Contact information
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
3400 Civic Center Blvd.
2-West
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-662-6567
Education:
BA ((Distinction in History))
Yale University, 1999.
M.D.
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2008.
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Description of Clinical Expertise

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.

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

Groover M, Gupta N, Granger E, Murad F, Forrester VJ, Anstadt EJ, Su W, Heusinkveld L, Lukens JN, Silk AW, Schoenfeld JD, Koyfman SA, Ruiz ES, Vidimos AT: A multicenter retrospective cohort analysis of advanced basal cell carcinoma outcomes by sex. J Am Acad Dermatol 90(1): 137-139, Jan 2024.

Ma KL, Sharon CE, Tortorello GN, Keele L, Lukens JN, Karakousis GC, Miura JT: Delayed time to radiation and overall survival in Merkel cell carcinoma. J Surg Oncol 128(8), Dec 2023.

Schmults CD, Blitzblau R, Aasi SZ, Alam M, Amini A, Bibee K, Bordeaux J, Chen PL, Contreras CM, DiMaio D, Donigan JM, Farma JM, Ghosh K, Harms K, Ho AL, Lukens JN, Mark L, Medina T, Nehal KS, Nghiem P, Olino K, Park S, Patel T, Puzanov I, Rich J, Sekulic A, Shaha AR, Srivastava D, Thomas V, Tomblinson C, Venkat P, Xu YG, Yu S, Yusuf M, McCullough B, Espinosa S: Basal Cell Skin Cancer, Version 2.2024, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw Nov 2023.

Lu JS, Cao AC, Shimunov D, Sun L, Lukens JN, Lin A, Cohen RB, Basu D, Cannady SB, Rajasekaran K, Weinstein GS, Brody RM: Functional Outcomes in Patients with Human Papillomavirus-Associated Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Cancer Treated with Trimodality Therapy. Laryngoscope 133(11), Nov 2023.

Groover M, Gupta N, Granger E, Forrester VJ, Anstadt EJ, Su W, Heusinkveld L, Chen A, Lukens JN, Silk AW, Vidimos AT, Schoenfeld JD, Koyfman SA, Ruiz ES: A multicenter real-world analysis of risk factors, therapeutics, and outcomes of patients with metastatic basal cell carcinoma. J Am Acad Dermatol 90(3): 545-551, Nov 2023.

Ma KL, Sharon CE, Tortorello GN, Perry NJ, Keele LJ, Lukens JN, Karakousis GC, Miura JT: Radiation, Lymph Node Dissection, or Both: Management of Lymph Node Micrometastases from Merkel Cell Carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol 30(7): 4345-4355, Apr 2023.

Nugent ST, Lukowiak TM, Cheng B, Stull C, Miller CJ, Aizman L, Perz AM, Etzkorn J, Sobanko JF, Shin TM, Giordano CN, Lukens JN, Miura JT, Modi MB, Higgins HW 2nd: High compliance with National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines and no local recurrences for patients receiving Mohs micrographic surgery for Merkel cell carcinoma: a single-center retrospective case series. J Am Acad Dermatol 88(4): 920-922, Apr 2023.

Deng J, Lukens JN, Zhu J, Cohn JC, Andersen LP, Spinelli BA, Quinn RJ, Chittams J, McMenamin E, Lin A: Patient Experience of Photobiomodulation Therapy in Head and Neck Chronic Lymphedema. J Palliat Med 26(9): 1225-1233, April 2023.

Berlin E, Ma DJ, Bakst RL, Quon H, Lin A, Lukens JN: Close Margins Following Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) for HPV+ Oropharyngeal Carcinoma: A review of the literature and practical recommendations. Pract Radiat Oncol 12(3): 251-255, Jan 2023.

Udupa JK, Liu T, Jin C, Zhao L, Odhner D, Tong Y, Agrawal V, Pednekar G, Nag S, Kotia T, Goodman M, Wileyto EP, Mihailidis D, Lukens JN, Berman AT, Stambaugh J, Lim T, Chowdary R, Jalluri D, Jabbour SK, Kim S, Reyhan M, Robinson CG, Thorstad WL, Choi JI, Press R, Simone CB 2nd, Camaratta J, Owens S, Torigian DA: Combining natural and artificial intelligence for robust automatic anatomy segmentation: Application in neck and thorax auto-contouring. Med Phys 49(11): 7118-7149, Nov 2022.

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Last updated: 03/12/2024
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