University of Vermont Cancer Center Member Profile
Christopher Anker, MD
Program Co-Leader, Cancer Host and Environment, UVM Cancer Center
Professor
Full Member
Cancer and Host Interactions (CHI)
Academic Interests
The overarching goal of this research program is to improve patient quality of life by safely de-intensifying cancer treatment (e.g. shortening treatment duration, reducing treatment intensity, or delaying therapy) while maintaining equivalent survival and cancer control outcomes. This work is carried out through multidisciplinary, multi-institutional collaborations and is unified by an emphasis on patient-centered outcomes, particularly quality-of-life.
Across disease sites, the specific goals include:
• Gastrointestinal and Rectal Cancers:
To reduce the morbidity of standard treatments by enabling organ preservation, avoiding surgery when possible, and substantially shortening radiation courses. Ongoing and planned trials aim to optimize radiation delivery, integrate chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and maintain excellent oncologic outcomes with fewer treatments.
• Lung Cancer:
To personalize care for select patients, particularly older adults with indolent disease, by using active surveillance and biologic markers (e.g., liquid biopsies) to delay or avoid unnecessary radiation, thereby minimizing toxicity while preserving outcomes. Patient-reported quality-of-life measures are central to this work.
• Brain Metastases:
To determine when radiation therapy can be safely avoided or deferred by leveraging modern systemic therapies (immunotherapy and targeted agents), reducing the risk of radiation-induced brain injury, and developing individualized treatment strategies based on response.
• Skin Cancer:
To define the optimal role of radiation therapy in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, including the safe integration of radiation with systemic therapies and the use of short-course hypofractionated radiation. Clinical trials focus on determining when radiation can be shortened or replaced with active surveillance without compromising disease control.
Collectively, these efforts seek to redefine cancer care by aligning effective treatment with reduced burden, toxicity, and disruption to patients’ lives.
The overarching goal of this research program is to improve patient quality of life by safely de-intensifying cancer treatment (e.g. shortening treatment duration, reducing treatment intensity, or delaying therapy) while maintaining equivalent survival and cancer control outcomes. This work is carried out through multidisciplinary, multi-institutional collaborations and is unified by an emphasis on patient-centered outcomes, particularly quality-of-life.
Across disease sites, the specific goals include:
• Gastrointestinal and Rectal Cancers:
To reduce the morbidity of standard treatments by enabling organ preservation, avoiding surgery when possible, and substantially shortening radiation courses. Ongoing and planned trials aim to optimize radiation delivery, integrate chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and maintain excellent oncologic outcomes with fewer treatments.
• Lung Cancer:
To personalize care for select patients, particularly older adults with indolent disease, by using active surveillance and biologic markers (e.g., liquid biopsies) to delay or avoid unnecessary radiation, thereby minimizing toxicity while preserving outcomes. Patient-reported quality-of-life measures are central to this work.
• Brain Metastases:
To determine when radiation therapy can be safely avoided or deferred by leveraging modern systemic therapies (immunotherapy and targeted agents), reducing the risk of radiation-induced brain injury, and developing individualized treatment strategies based on response.
• Skin Cancer:
To define the optimal role of radiation therapy in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, including the safe integration of radiation with systemic therapies and the use of short-course hypofractionated radiation. Clinical trials focus on determining when radiation can be shortened or replaced with active surveillance without compromising disease control.
Collectively, these efforts seek to redefine cancer care by aligning effective treatment with reduced burden, toxicity, and disruption to patients’ lives.