Surgery Websites
Thoracic Oncology Program »  Meet the Team »  Radiation Oncologists »  Sue S. Yom, M.D., Ph.D.
Sue S. Yom, M.D., Ph.D.

Sue S. Yom, M.D., Ph.D.

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Radiation Oncology & Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

Contact Information

Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
1600 Divisadero Street, Box 1708
San Francisco, California 94143-1708
Phone: 415-353-7175
Fax: 415-353-9883
[email protected]
Open Popup

 

  • 1987-91, Rice University, Houston, TX,  B.A.  French
  • 1993-02, University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D. English
  • 1995-02, University of Pennsylvania, M.D., Medicine
  • 2002-2003 M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Intern, Medicine/Surgery
  • 2003-2007 M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Resident, Radiation Oncology 
  • American Board of Radiology
  • Thoracic Oncology Program
  • Head and Neck Oncology Program
  • Visible Tumor and High-Risk Skin Cancer Program
  • Department of Radiation Oncology
  • Brachytherapy
  • Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma (BAC)
  • Chemoradiation
  • CyberKnife irradiation for lung and skull base
  • Electron beam and orthovoltage irradiation
  • External-beam radiation therapy
  • Head & Neck Cancer
  • Hyperthemia
  • Intensity-modulated radiation therapy
  • Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Small-Cell Lung Cancer
  • Advanced imaging and radiation planning
  • Head and neck and lung cancers
  • Image-guided and adaptive radiation therapy
  • Outcomes and quality of life
  • Radiation in combination with chemotherapy and targeted agents
  • Radiation sensitizers and protectors

Dr. Yom is a radiation oncologist who specializes in the treatment of head and neck and lung cancers. She received her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002 and completed her residency training at the prestigious M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. In 2007, she joined the UCSF faculty as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology.  

Dr. Yom is particularly interested in emerging radiotherapeutic and biologic techniques aimed at reducing the toxicities of treatment. In head and neck cancer, she has studied a variety of issues related to chemoradiation and combined modality treatments, technical aspects of radiation delivery, and radiation-related prognostic factors and post-treatment management. Specifically in lung cancer, she has been involved in efforts to quantify the risks of pneumonitis and esophagitis resulting from concurrent treatment with chemotherapy and radiation and helped to establish intensity-modulated radiation therapy in the treatment of locoregionally advanced lung cancers.

Evidencing her commitment to patient care and patient-oriented research, Dr. Yom has been the recipient of numerous awards including the ASTRO Fellowship from the Korean American Society for Therapeutic Radiology & Oncology, the Jesse H. Jones Fellowship in Cancer Education for excellence in cancer education at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, an award from the A. Lavoy Moore Endowment Fund for excellence in lung cancer research, and the Eleanor Montague Distinguished Resident Award in Radiation Oncology from the American Association of Women Radiologists. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and is a regularly invited speaker to fellow professionals in the field.

In lung cancer, Dr. Yom has conducted research quantifying the risks of pneumonitis and esophagitis when chemotherapy and radiation are given simultaneously. Her research findings were important in establishing the early use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for lung cancer in combination with 4-dimensional CT-based planning. She has particular expertise in the delivery of chemoradiation therapy for advanced-stage lung cancer, and also the delivery of non-invasive stereotactic CyberKnife radiation for early-stage lung cancer. Her hope is that better understanding of radiation toxicities will permit higher treatment doses, increase the rate of cure and improve patient quality of life. She is strongly committed to research that will lead to more effective, less toxic, and more highly individualized therapy for patients.

Dr. Yom is an investigator on many research studies in head and neck and lung cancer at UCSF, including trials related to to image-guided radiation, head and neck patients' quality of life, and combinations of novel systemic agents with radiation therapy. She is especially interested in improved clinical and translational prognostic models in order to provide more effective and individualized therapy. It is hoped that the reduction of toxicities, both through technical and biologic means, will improve patients' quality of life and potentially enable physicians to deliver more intelligently targeted radiation and chemotherapy doses in search of a better chance of cure. She believes in multidisciplinary management and a unified, team-oriented approach to patient care

Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0779-7476 Additional info
  • Oral microbiome and inflammatory status in antimicrobially-treated oral cancer patients
    Sponsor:
    Sponsor ID:
    Funding Period:
    Jun 2022
    -
    May 2027
    Principal Investigator
Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 247
Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
  1. Patel EJ, Strohl MP, Yom SS, El-Sayed I. Elective management of the N0 neck in maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma. Head Neck. 2023 Nov 05. View in PubMed
  2. Plonowska-Hirschfeld KA, Gulati A, Stephens EM, Ochoa E, Xu MJ, Ha PK, Heaton CM, Yom SS, Chan JW, Algazi A, Kang H, Ryan WR. Treatment Modality Impact on Patient-Reported Quality of Life in Human Papilloma Virus-Associated Oropharyngeal Carcinoma. Laryngoscope. 2023 Sep 28. View in PubMed
  3. Yom SS. High-Quality Science and the People Who Make It: Red Journal Outstanding Reviewers of 2022. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Nov 01; 117(3):532. View in PubMed
  4. Yom SS. The Top 20 Cited and Downloaded Red Journal Articles of 2022. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2023 Nov 01; 117(3):529-531. View in PubMed
  5. Keenan BP, Sibley A, Zhang L, Westring AF, Velazquez AI, Bank EM, Bergsland EK, Boreta L, Conroy P, Daras M, Hermiston M, Hsu G, Paris PL, Piawah S, Sinha S, Sosa JA, Tsang M, Venook AP, Wong M, Yom SS, Van Loon K. Evaluation of Culture Conducive to Academic Success by Gender at a Comprehensive Cancer Center. Oncologist. 2023 Jul 13. View in PubMed
  6. View All Publications

 

Site Directory
    X