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Gender:

Male

Primary Hospital Affiliation:

Rhode Island Hospital

Also Associated With:

The Miriam Hospital

Specialty:

Radiation Oncology

Education:

Residency: New England Medical Center/Tufts University

Medical School: New York University School of Medicine

Fellowship: New York University School of Medicine

Background

David Wazer, MD, is a nationally recognized specialist in the treatment of breast, gastrointestinal, melanoma and central nervous system cancers. He is chief of the departments of radiation oncology at Rhode Island Hospital. He is also a professor and chairman of the department of radiation oncology at Brown Medical School.

Among his wide experience in high-tech medicine for the treatment of cancer is the use of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), high dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery. Since 2002, he has performed Mammosite radiation on post-lumpectomy patients, a technique that considerably shortens the time necessary for radiation treatments. His specialties include the treatment of melanoma and gastrointestinal carcinoma. He is also an expert in intraoperative brachytherapy, a process done collaboratively with surgeons to insert tubes that hold radioactive sources in regions where tumors cannot be removed, and conformal 3-D therapy, a sophisticated irradiation technique that delivers a high dose of radiation to a tumor while protecting the adjacent normal tissues utilizing imaging technology.

Wazer, a radiation pioneer, actively conducts cancer research and has been instrumental in bringing the latest radiation oncology technology to southern New England. In 2001, Rhode Island Hospital began offering IMRT, before most hospitals in New England. In 2002, Rhode Island Hospital was the first in New England to offer mammosite brachytherapy following its FDA approval, a direct offshoot of the related breast brachytherapy treatment developed at Rhode Island Hospital. In 2003, Rhode Island Hospital became the first to treat lung cancer with a combination treatment of radiofrequency ablation and HDR brachytherapy, and is now leading a national clinical trial to test the efficacy of this treatment.

Wazer continues to seek out the most advanced treatments available for cancer, bringing several new technologies to Rhode Island Hospital this year. The Trilogy linear accelerator, which delivers highly sophisticated image-guided radiation therapy, is now available at Rhode Island Hospital, along with robotic prostate brachytherapy. And Xoft brachytherapy, which will be used to treat breast and gynecological cancers, will be available immediately following its FDA clearance.

Wazer has been active in local, national and international societies. In 2004, he assumed the role of editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is the author of more than 100 publications and has contributed to numerous textbooks, book chapters, monographs and review articles. He holds a bachelor's degree from Holy Cross College, and a medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine.