Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO

Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO

Baylor College of Medicine, Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center

Houston, Texas

Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO, serves as a Professor and the Chairman of Radiation Oncology at Baylor College of Medicine, for the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Hamstra’s research has focused on advanced radiation and MRI in the treatment of CNS and prostate cancers, focusing on patient-reported quality of life.

Dr. Hamstra received an MD with honors in Research and a PhD in Cancer Pharmacology from the University of Michigan. He remained at the University of Michigan to complete his internship in Internal Medicine and a residency in Radiation Oncology. Dr. Hamstra then completed his fellowship in Pediatric Radiation Oncology at St Jude Children’s Research Center in Memphis, Tennessee. He then served as a faculty member at the University of Michigan for 9 years, rising to Associate Professor and Associate Chairman for Education, where he was the clinical leader for Pediatric, Genitourinary, and CNS Cancers.

Dr. Hamstra has 170 peer-reviewed articles and has been involved with clinical trials both at the local level and nationally. Studies from his research group were instrumental in the evaluation and ultimate FDA approval of the SpaceOAR system (Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA), which provides rectal-prostate spacing during radiation treatment of men with prostate cancer. Dr. Hamstra continues to study how to best evaluate the quality of life and toxicity during and following radiation therapy. He believes passionately that patient-reported outcomes—in which patients assess and document their own experience after treatment—are key to assessing care for patients as individuals and improving treatments as part of ongoing clinical research.

Talks by Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO

Updates in Radiotherapy for Bladder Cancer

Updates in Radiotherapy for Bladder Cancer

| Dec 2024

Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO, explores advances in bladder cancer therapy, focusing on trimodality bladder preservation. In this 21-minute presentation, he compares the North American approach, which requires strict criteria for bladder preservation, including thorough TURBT and an absence of extensive CIS, to a more inclusive UK approach, which tolerates certain conditions such as CIS and hydronephrosis and utilizes non-platinum-based chemotherapy.

Hamstra shares a significant UK phase III trial that illustrates the effectiveness of adding chemotherapy to radiation, enhancing local control and survival, and reducing the need for cystectomy. A multi-institutional study comparing this approach with radical cystectomy indicates comparable metastasis-free and overall survival rates, suggesting trimodality therapy as a viable alternative to surgery.

Hamstra notes that neoadjuvant chemotherapy is emerging as beneficial in bladder preservation, with data supporting its utility across different cancers when combined with radiation. For node-positive bladder cancer, combined chemoradiotherapy (chemoRT) appears as effective as surgery in appropriately selected patients.

Newer immunotherapies and non-platinum regimens continue to expand options, while evidence supports chemoRT as an alternative to radical surgery, especially for patients prioritizing quality of life and organ preservation.

Read More
Updates in Chemoradiation for Bladder Urothelial Cancer

Updates in Chemoradiation for Bladder Urothelial Cancer

| Jan 2024

Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO, discusses updates in chemoradiation for bladder urothelial cancer. He compares data from a retrospective review on cystectomy vs. trimodality therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, explaining that the data showed no difference in metastasis-free survival and minimal difference in overall survival.

Dr. Hamstra shares data from a study on local therapy in clinical node-positive bladder cancer that showed no difference in OS or progression-free survival with surgery vs. radiation therapy. He then explains that surgical management is critical for bladder preservation therapy.

Dr. Hamstra explains the North American trimodality therapy patient selection process and explains that, while it excludes poor responders to treatment (therefore ensuring a higher likelihood of bladder preservation,) it also excludes many patients. He outlines the UK approach to therapy, calling it a broader-based treatment.

Dr. Hamstra then summarizes data on chemoradiation for MIBC that show locoregional control was substantially better, and metastasis-free survival was somewhat better, when chemotherapy was combined with radiation therapy vs. radiation therapy alone. He then addresses whether concurrent chemoradiation therapy is needed following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, explaining while it has potentially smaller impact on the other endpoints, chemoradiation therapy still increased locoregional control and invasive locoregional control.

Dr. Hamstra addresses radiation therapy, its role and the best approach to radiation therapy delivery. Dr. Hamstra shares data out of Pakistan comparing bladder-only radiation therapy vs. pelvis and bladder radiation therapy that shows no improvement when treating the pelvic lymph nodes.

Dr. Hamstra concludes that trimodality bladder preservation represents a viable but under-utilized option for bladder cancer. It is a viable option in non-operative candidates or node-positive disease, and there are multiple chemotherapy options. He points out the importance of coordinated care and newer agents that may be used with radiation therapy to improve outcomes.

Read More
The Role of Radiotherapy in Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer and How to Treat the Primary in De Novo Oligometastatic Disease

The Role of Radiotherapy in Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer and How to Treat the Primary in De Novo Oligometastatic Disease

| Dec 2023

Daniel A. Hamstra, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO, discusses the use of radiotherapy in oligometastatic prostate cancer treatment and how to approach treating the primary in de novo oligometastatic disease. In this presentation, Dr. Hamstra covers:

The history and definition of oligometastatic disease.
The history of radiation therapy in localized and metastatic prostate cancer.
Results from the STAMPEDE, PEACE-1, and STOMP and ORIOLE trials.
The Pros and Cons of including radiation therapy in systemic therapy.
Progression to Survival and Overall Survival rates in radiation therapy patients.

Dr. Hamstra concludes by highlighting the need for more data on low-volume versus high-volume patients, and he recommends enrolling eligible patients in the ongoing SWOG S1802 trial.

Read More
  • 1
  • 2