Head and neck cancers generally start in the lining of the mouth, nose, throat or voice box.
Biography
Dr Lachlan McDowell is a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre specialising in the treatment of head and neck cancers. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 2008, and received his Fellowship in Radiation Oncology from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists in 2015. During 2015, he undertook a clinical and research fellowship in head and neck radiation oncology and adult radiation therapy late effects at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada. He joined the Peter Mac radiation oncology department in December 2016.
Dr McDowell’s main research interests include clinical outcomes, health related quality of life and unmet needs in head and neck cancers. He is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Melbourne focussed on gaining a better understanding of the long-term quality of life and unmet needs of survivors with human papillomavirus-associated (HPV) oropharyngeal cancer, including a specific interesting in sexual health outcomes and fear of cancer recurrence. He is also a supervisor and investigator of a number of local cohort and clinical studies.
Dr McDowell participates on a number of international and national research committees. He is currently the co-chair of the Head and Neck Cancer International Group’s Young Investigator committee and the deputy of the Guidelines and Protocols committee. He is also the deputy chair of the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG) Head and Neck and Skin Cancer working party. He is also a member of the scientific committee of the Australian and New Zealand Head and Neck Cancer Society. He also has memberships with the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the European Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO). He has previously been involved in the development of national treatment guidelines for head and neck cancer as a member of the EVIQ reference committee.
Dr McDowell has published in internationally recognized oncology journals including Cancer, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Oral Oncology, Head & Neck and the Journal Of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology. He is also regularly peer reviews for a number of international oncology journals.
Dr McDowell was also the recipient of the Victorian and Tasmanian radiation oncology training network award for excellence in teaching in both 2018 and 2020. He has previously received honourable mentions in 2016 and 2017.
Qualifications
B App.Sc (Med Rad Tech), MB BS, FRANZCR
Publications
Text Books
Textbook of Uncommon Cancers. 5th Edition. Wiley-Blackwell, 2017. Chapter 8: Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in the Non-endemic populations. Lachlan McDowell, Annette Lim, June Corry.
The Use of Antibiotics: A Clinical Review of Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antiviral Drugs. Holder Arnold - Health Sciences, 2010. Chapter: ‘Ceftriaxone’. Lachlan McDowell, Baek-Nam Kim, David Patterson
Selected Journal Articles
Udovicich C, Daniell J, Wiesenfeld D, Bressel M, Rowe D, Vital D, Cavanagh K, Ledgabe E, Wong T, Magarey MJR, Rischin D, Fua T, Iseli T, McDowell L. Contralateral neck failure in oral tongue cancer: Outcomes from two centers using predefined treatment criteria. Head & neck. 2021.
Casswell G, Gough K, Drosdowsky A, Bressel M, Coleman A, Shrestha S, D'Costa I, Fua T, Tiong A, Liu C, Rischin D, McDowell L. Sexual Health and Interpersonal Relationships After Chemoradiation Therapy for Human Papillomavirus-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2020 Nov 7:S0360-3016(20)34491-6.
McDowell L, So N, Keshavarzi S, Xu W, Rock K, Chan B, Waldon J, Bernstein LJ, Huang SH, Giuliani M, Hope A, O’Sullivan B, Bratman S, Cho J, Kim J, Jang R, Bayley A, Ringash J. et al. Sexual satisfaction in nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors: Rates and determinants. Oral Oncol. 2020;109:104865
McDowell L, Goode S, Sundaresan P. Adapting to a global pandemic through live virtual delivery of a cancer collaborative trial group conference: the TROG 2020 experience J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2020 Apr 18.
McDowell L, Casswell G, Bressel M, Gough K, Drosdowsky A, Coleman A, Shrestha I, D’Costa I, Fua T, Tiong A, Liu C, Ng SP, Solomon B, Rischin D. (2020). "Patient-reported Quality of life and toxicity in unilateral and bilateral radiotherapy for early-stage human papillomavirus associated tonsillar carcinoma." Clin Transl Radiat Oncol. (2020)
Daniels CP, Bressel M, Corry J, Cole A, S-T Chua M, Tiong A, Hirshoren N, Dixon B, McDowell LJ. Treatment package time in node-positive cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2019 Oct 10. pii: S1879-8500(19)30273-5. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2019.09.009. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31606546.
So N, McDowell LJ, Lu L, Xu W, Rock K, Waldron J, Bernstein LJ, Chan HB, Huang SH, Giuliani M, Hope A, O'Sullivan B, Bratman SV, Cho J, Kim J, Jang R, Bayley A, Ringash J. The Prevalence and Determinants of Return to Work in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Survivors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019 Sep 27. pii: S0360-3016(19)33828-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.09.008. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31568813.
Morales CZ, McDowell L, Lisy K, Piper A, Jefford M. Return to work in survivors of human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal cancer: An Australian experience. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019 Sep 12. pii: S0360-3016(19)33751-4. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.09.001. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31521718.
McDowell LJ, Young RJ, Johnston ML, Tan TJ, Kleid S, Liu CS, Bressel M, Estall V, Rischin D, Solomon B, Corry J. p16-positive lymph node metastases from cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: No association with high-risk human papillomavirus or prognosis and implications for the workup of the unknown primary. Cancer. 2016 Apr 15;122(8):1201-8. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29901. Epub 2016 Feb 16. PubMed PMID: 26881928.
McDowell LJ, Huang SH, Xu W, Che J, Wong RKS, Brierley J, Kim J, Cummings B, Waldron J, Bayley A, Hansen A, Witterick I, Ringash J. Effect of Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy With Concurrent Chemotherapy on Survival for Patients With Cervical Esophageal Carcinoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2017 May 1;98(1):186-195. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2017.01.003. Epub 2017 Jan 9. PubMed PMID: 28258892.
McDowell LJ, Rock K, Xu W, Chan B, Waldron J, Lu L, Ezzat S, Pothier D, Bernstein LJ, So N, Huang SH, Giuliani M, Hope A, O'Sullivan B, Bratman SV, Cho J, Kim J, Jang R, Bayley A, Ringash J. Long-Term Late Toxicity, Quality of Life, and Emotional Distress in Patients With Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Treated With Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2018 Oct 1;102(2):340-352. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2018.05.060. Epub 2018 Jun 4. PubMed PMID: 30191868.
McDowell LJ, Ringash J, Xu W, Chan B, Lu L, Waldron J, Rock K, So N, Huang SH, Giuliani M, Hope A, O'Sullivan B, Bratman SV, Cho J, Kim J, Jang R, Bayley A, Bernstein LJ. A cross sectional study in cognitive and neurobehavioral impairment in long-term nasopharyngeal cancer survivors treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Radiother Oncol. 2019 Feb;131:179-185. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2018.09.012. Epub 2018 Sep 29. PubMed PMID: 30279047.
McDowell LJ, Tan TJ, Bressel M, Estall V, Kleid S, Corry J, Johnston ML. Outcomes of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with parotid metastases. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2016 Oct;60(5):668-676. doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.12484. Epub 2016 Jun 21. PubMed PMID: 27324298.
McDowell LJ, Jacobson MC, Levin W. High-dose intravenous steroid regimen for radiation-induced hypoglossal nerve palsy. Head Neck. 2017 Feb;39(2):E23-E28. doi: 10.1002/hed.24600. Epub 2016 Oct 5. PubMed PMID: 27704653.
Bucknell NW, Dixon BJ, Hoffman MS, McDowell LJ. Importance of timing in staging head and neck cancer: cervical adenopathy post-tonsillectomy mimicking malignancy. ANZ J Surg. 2018 Apr 25. doi: 10.1111/ans.14509. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29695024.
Ong WL, Bailey E, McCormack C, Weston L, Morgan V, McDowell L. Definitive radiotherapy for Merkel cell carcinoma in the setting of epidermolysis bullosa simplex. Australas J Dermatol. 2019 May;60(2):153-154. doi: 10.1111/ajd.12960. Epub 2018 Nov 18. PubMed PMID: 30450568.
McDowell L, Collins M, Kleid S, Rischin D, Corry J. T4 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue without mandibular involvement: surgery or chemoradiotherapy? Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2014 Feb;117(2):163-9. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2013.09.005. Epub 2013 Nov 23. PubMed PMID: 24275355.
Invited Reviews, Review Articles, Editorials and Opinion Pieces
McDowell L, Gough K, King M, Corry J, Rischin D. Patient-reported quality of life and symptom burden measures in human papillomavirus associated oropharyngeal cancer - A review of the literature and PRO methodology. Oral Oncol. 2021;118:105309.
McDowell L, Rischin D, Lee AWM. Locoregional Radiation Therapy for De Novo Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Cancer: One Size Fits All? Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2021 Jan 1;109(1):131-133. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.10.001. PMID: 33308694.
McDowell L, NG SP, Corry J. "COVID-19—An Opportunity for Optimizing Surveillance Protocols During and Beyond the Pandemic: HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer as an Example of Response-Based Local Surveillance." Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 108(2): 400-403.
McDowell L, Corry J, Ringash J, Rischin D. Quality of Life, Toxicity and Unmet Needs in Nasopharyngeal Cancer Survivors. Frontiers in Oncology. 2020;10(930).
McDowell L, Yom SS. Locally advanced non-melanomatous skin cancer: Contemporary radiotherapeutic management. Oral Oncol. 2019 Nov 22;99:104443.
Casswell G, Cavanagh K, Ravi Kumar AS, Giddings C, McDowell L. Setting the stage: Contemporary staging of non-melanomatous skin cancer and implementation of the new American Joint Committee on cancer eighth edition staging manual. Oral Oncol. 2019 Sep 28;98:102-108.
McDowell L, Corry J. Radiation therapy quality assurance in head and neck radiotherapy - Moving forward. Oral Oncol. 2019 Jan;88:180-185.
McDowell LJ, Corry J. A Call To Arms: Radiation Therapy Quality Assurance In The Next Generation Of Clinical Trials. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2018 Jul 28.
