Gopal Bajaj, Chief Medical Officer of Totipotent Capital and Chief Medical Officer of North America at CaringUp, shared a post on LinkedIn about a paper he co-authored with colleagues published in The Lancet:
“I am honored to share a truly landmark moment in our field – and a meaningful personal milestone. The Lancet has published a sentinel study demonstrating a survival benefit for patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated with proton therapy compared with those treated with conventional photon therapy. I am privileged to serve as a co-author on this work.
For me, as a community-based radiation oncologist, contributing to a study of this caliber – published in one of the world’s most respected medical journals – is profoundly significant. It reinforces that transformative, practice-changing research is not confined to major academic centers; it can and should reflect the realities, expertise, and patient experiences across the full landscape of cancer care.
This publication also underscores Inova’s commitment to delivering the most advanced therapies available anywhere in the country. Investing in proton therapy for Northern Virginia was never simply about technology – it was about expanding the therapeutic window, improving outcomes, and ensuring that our community has access to the highest standard of evidence-based cancer care. This new survival signal in oropharyngeal cancer further validates that vision.
A special acknowledgement goes to Steven Frank, MD, whose leadership, scientific rigor, and persistent advocacy for proton therapy made this study possible. His work has elevated the entire field and created a foundation that will influence treatment decisions for years to come.
It is deeply gratifying to see the science finally catch up with what so many of us have observed clinically: when delivered thoughtfully, proton therapy can make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.
Proud to have contributed. Even more proud of what this means for our patients and our community.”
Title: Proton versus photon radiotherapy for patients with oropharyngeal cancer in the USA: a multicentre, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority phase 3 trial
Authors: Steven J Frank, Paul M Busse, J Jack Lee, David I Rosenthal, Mike Hernandez, David M Swanson, Adam S Garden, G Brandon Gunn, Samir H Patel, James W Snider, Daniel J Ma, Jason K Molitoris, Nancy Y Lee, Upendra Parvathaneni, Mark W McDonald, Noah S Kalman, Alexander Lin, Nasiruddin Mohammed, Christina Henson, Christian Hyde, Gopal K Bajaj, Sanford R Katz, Roi Dagan, William H Morrison, Jay P Reddy, C David Fuller, Shalin J Shah, Jack Phan, Gregory M Chronowski, Lauren Mayo, Erich M Sturgis, Renata Ferrarotto, Xiaorong R Zhu, Xiaodong Zhang, Li Wang, Katherine A Hutcheson, Adel K El-Naggar, Amy C Moreno, Anna Lee, Michael T Spiotto, Neil D Gross, Stephen Y Lai, Jay J Liao, Jonathan Paly, Zhongxing Liao, and Robert L Foote
You can read the Full Article in The Lancet.
More posts featuring Gopal Bajaj.