Department of Biostatistics & Medical Informatics, Affiliate Faculty Professor,
Director of Research & Education, Department of Human Oncology
Ph.D. in Medical Physics, University of Aarhus, Denmark, 1986
K4/314 Clinical Sciences Center
600 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53792-4675
Phone: 608-265-8572
Fax: 608-263-9947
E-mail: bentzen at humonc dot wisc dot edu
Research Interests
My research focuses on evidence based radiation oncology and the development of novel strategies for optimizing radiation therapy outcome through personalized prescriptions of the 4D dose distribution using molecular risk profiling and functional imaging, so-called theragnostic radiation oncology. Theragnostic radiation oncology is the theme for a NIH PO1 program project grant under development that I am coordinating. The aim is to provide the clinico-biological basis for rational prescription of non-uniform dose distributions in individual patients. The UW provides an exceptional environment for pursuing this research line, with strong functional and molecular imaging groups - expected to be further enhanced when the Interdisciplinary Research Center (IRC) comes on line.
Molecular risk profiling is directly linked with outcomes research, mainly based on data from clinical trials and we have pioneered the use of hierarchical clustering and competing risks analysis in this context. Most of our work so far, has been based on immunohistochemical markers or DNA gene expression arrays, but we are actively pursuing collaborations and seeking funding for expanding these approaches into proteomics and metabolomics together with the Biotech Center at UW.
My third major research area is bioeffect modeling and outcomes research. Bioeffect modeling includes the modeling of dose-response relationships, linear-quadratic time-dose-frationation models and NTCP/TCP models. I am also involved in the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of several randomized controlled trials and have a long-standing research interest in long-term side-effects, health-related quality of life and functional outcomes. Active research lines also include surrogate endpoint in clinical trials and normal tissue radiobiology. Much of this research is pursued with a large network of national and international collaborators.
Selected Publications
Selected publications (from a total of 283, abstracts not included):
Buffa FM, Bentzen SM, Daley FM et al. Molecular marker profiles predict locoregional control of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in a randomized trial of continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Jun 1;10(11):3745-3754.
Bentzen SM. Theragnostic imaging for radiation oncology: dose-painting by numbers. Lancet Oncol. 2005 Feb;6(2):112-117.
Bentzen SM, Atasoy BM, Daley FM et al. Epidermal growth factor receptor expression in pretreatment biopsies from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma as a predictive factor for a benefit from accelerated radiation therapy in a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2005 Aug 20;23(24):5560-5567.
Bentzen SM. Preventing or reducing late side effects of radiation therapy: radiobiology meets molecular pathology. Nature Reviews Cancer 2006 Sep 1; 6(9): 702-713.
Bentzen SM, Harari PM, Bernier J. Exploitable mechanisms for combining drugs with radiation: concepts, achievements and future directions. Nature Clinical Practice Oncology 2007 Mar;4(3): 172-180.
