Stanford Radiation Oncology

04/08/2026

Yesterday, Stanford Medicine officially cut the ribbon on our brand-new, first-of-its-kind ultracompact proton therapy facility.

For years, proton therapy has been limited by the massive size and cost of the equipment required to deliver it. Traditionally, these machines required buildings the size of football fields. By collaborating with industry pioneers, our faculty helped innovate a way to "shrink" this technology.

Today, Stanford is the first in the world to implement an ultracompact system that fits into a standard treatment vault.

We are incredibly proud of our team—including Dr. Bill Loo, Dr. Susan Hiniker, and Dr. Yuan James Rao—whose vision made this possible.

🔗 Read the full story by Stanford Medicine here:

Stanford Medicine is the first in the world to introduce ultracompact proton therapy that will make the advanced targeted radiotherapy more accessible to patients.

04/01/2026

We are incredibly proud and excited to share our 2025 Stanford Radiation Oncology Annual Report. In this edition, we are celebrating a legacy of innovation while spotlighting the groundbreaking research that is currently redefining cancer treatment.

Key highlights from this year’s report include:

💡 Proton Therapy Breakthrough: We have unveiled the world's most compact proton therapy system, successfully firing the first beam from a machine designed to fit within a standard radiation vault.

💡 Biology-Guided Radiotherapy (BGRT): Stanford continues to lead the world in BGRT, using real-time PET signals as a "biological beacon" to track and treat tumors with incredible precision.

💡 AI & Machine Learning: From automating total marrow lymphoid irradiation (TMLI) to deep-learning programs for lung tumor detection, we are leveraging AI to make complex care safer and more efficient.

💡 Revolutionizing Care via 3D Printing: Our Division of Radiation Physics has developed 100% safe, 3D-printed electron cutouts and custom needle guides that have significantly improved long-term local control for cervical cancer patients.

💡 Expanded Clinical Access: We are bringing Stanford-standard healthcare to the broader community by expanding clinical trials to regional sites like Cancer Center South Bay.

We invite our colleagues, friends, and the global oncology community to explore the full report and join us in shaping the future of radiation therapy.

Read the full report here:

2025 Stanford Radiation Oncology Annual Report

03/30/2026

Happy National Doctors’ Day to our Radiation Oncology therapy faculty and residents!

Thank you for the skill, steadiness, and compassion you bring to patients and families during some of their most challenging times. The time spent with each patient’s story and journey sets Stanford apart as an institution of compassionate care. Your dedication to our patients—and to teaching, mentoring, and research—makes a lasting impact every day.

Wishing you a day of well-deserved recognition and gratitude!

03/30/2026

The 2026 Medical Physics Match results are in! Huge congratulations to our newest Medical Physics residents. We’re honored and excited to have you join our team and are eager to get started on this next chapter together. Please join us in welcoming Dongrong Yang and Joshua Misa to Stanford Radiation Oncology!

03/27/2026

A new study led by Dr. Anusha Kalbasi at Stanford Medicine, in partnership with UCLA Health, has found that a triple-threat combination of radiation and immunotherapy given before surgery can help the body recognize and destroy sarcoma cells that were previously "invisible" to the immune system. This research has been published in Cancer Discovery. Congratulations to Dr. Kalbasi and the entire research team on this milestone!
Full story here:

The findings show that the approach can reshape the tumor microenvironment to activate the body’s immune cells against cancer.

03/23/2026

Congratulations to our newly matched residents! Welcome to Stanford Radiation Oncology. We are so excited to have you!

03/19/2026

For a toddler, 30 minutes in a radiation suite can feel like a lifetime. That’s why our team at Stanford Radiation Oncology created AVATAR — a device that projects videos onto a screen during treatment.
Susan Hiniker, MD, Bill Loo, MD, PhD, and Lawrie Skinner, PhD, and the team noticed that kids who couldn't stay still for a scan were perfectly calm if they had a tablet, watching their favorite TV shows and movies. By building a screen that doesn't interfere with radiation beams, they've helped nearly 80% of pediatric patients avoid daily anesthesia.
From our clinics in the Bay Area to hospitals in Romania and Kenya, we are making cancer treatment a little less scary for our smallest patients.
Read more about the AVATAR project and the Stanford Catalyst program in the latest Stanford Medicine Magazine:

The Catalyst program partners pioneering developers with industry leaders, investors and advisers to accelerate the process of getting inventions to patients.

03/12/2026

Please join us in congratulating Jason Ross, MD, PhD, for receiving the Rosenkranz Aging and Rejuvenation Seed Grant for his proposal “Depleting Myeloid-Biased Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Rejuvenate Aged Immunity and Extend Healthspan”!
Congratulations on this incredible achievement, Dr. Ross!

03/10/2026

Stanford Radiation Oncology will be well-represented at the 64th Annual Conference of the Particle Therapy Cooperative Group (PTCOG), June 8–13, 2026, in Deauville, France. Our department submitted a strong slate of 9 abstracts, including contributions from Vivek Maradia, Xianjin Dai, and many others. Congratulations to the Stanford team for this achievement!

03/09/2026

Stanford Radiation Oncology is closing the gap in patient care with a new, patient-centered initiative led by Dr. Joseph Abi Jaoude and Dr. Erqi Pollom. Recognizing that pelvic physical therapy is often high-demand and low-access, the team has launched a comprehensive at-home educational module for patients undergoing radiation.

When patients undergo pelvic radiation, the focus often centers on eliminating cancer. Yet the treatment can also bring lasting side effects that affect the muscles and organs of the pelvic region, impacting bowel and bladder control, sexual function, and overall quality of life.

03/06/2026

For years, the sheer scale and cost of proton therapy facilities—often requiring the footprint of a football field—presented a massive roadblock for cancer centers. Dr. Bill Loo and the team at Stanford Medicine are proving that innovation doesn't always have to be bigger; it can be smarter.

By integrating a compact accelerator from Mevion Medical Systems with an upright positioning system from Leo Cancer Care, Dr. Loo has overseen a transformation that reduces the required space for this technology by over 90%. Instead of building a massive new facility across town, Stanford was able to fit the system into an existing X-ray vault, fully integrating proton therapy into their main cancer center.

As patient treatments begin this month, this milestone marks a major step toward making advanced radiation oncology more practical and accessible.

Read more about Dr. Loo’s work and the future of compact proton therapy here:

As centers expand worldwide, innovators are tackling cost, space, staffing, and patient access

02/27/2026

Today is Thank a Resident and Fellow Day!

We’re celebrating our incredible Therapy and Physics residents and fellows for their dedication, resilience, and clinical excellence. From research to patient care, your contributions are shaping the future of Radiation Oncology.

Join us in saying a huge thank you to this amazing team!