Physical sciences

Administrative Assistant: Rachel Amodeo
Phone: 416-480-4982
Email: rachel.amodeo@sunnybrook.ca

Education:

• B.Sc., 1993, biochemistry, McMaster University, Canada
• M.Sc., 1997, neurology and neurosurgery, McGill University, Canada
• MD, 2003, McMaster University, Canada
• FRCPC, 2008, department of radiation oncology, University of Toronto, Canada
• Fellowship, 2009, imaging research, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Canada

Appointments and Affiliations:

• Affiliate scientist, Physical Sciences, Odette Cancer Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Radiation oncologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Assistant professor, department of radiation oncology, U of T

Research Foci:

• Gastrointestinal and genitourinary malignancies
• Stereotactic body radiotherapy
• MRI-guided radiotherapy
• High-intensity focused ultrasound hyperthermia

Research Summary:

The focus of Dr. Chu’s research is the development and evaluation of innovative, high-impact radiation treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. He conducts national and international collaborative studies, and his areas of research include the following:

• Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for patients with kidney and prostate cancer, and tumours involving the liver, pancreas, adrenal glands and lymph nodes.
• He is the principal investigator of a Canadian, multicentre, Phase II study of SBRT for patients with inoperable renal cell carcinoma.
• He is a co-investigator of studies combining SBRT with immunotherapy and targeted therapy for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
• He is the Canadian lead of an international Phase III randomized controlled trial of prostate SBRT.

• Early-phase studies of MRI-guided radiotherapy and high-intensity focused ultrasound hyperthermia for patients with rectal cancer.

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

1. Van As NJ, Brand D, Tree A, Ostler PJ, Chu W, Loblaw A, Ford D, Tolan SP, Jain S, Martin AS, Staffurth J, Brown S, Burnett SM, Duffton A, Griffin C, Hinder V, Morrison K, Naismith OF, Hall H. PACE: Analysis of acute toxicity in PACE-B, an international phase III randomized controlled trial comparing stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to conventionally fractionated or moderately hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy (CFMHRT) for localized prostate cancer (LPCa). J Clin Oncol. 2019 Mar 1;37(7s):1. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2019.37.7_suppl.1
2. Siva S, Louie A, Warner A, Muacevic A, Senthil G, Ponsky L, Ellis R, Kaplan I, Mahadevan A, Chu W, Swaminath S, Honishi, Teh B, Correa R, Smlo S, Staehler M. Pooled analysis of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for primary renal cell carcinoma: A report from the International Radiosurgery Oncology Consortium for Kidney (IROCK). Cancer. 2018 Mar 1;124(5):934—42.
3. Chan M, Dennis K, Chow E, Sahgal A, Hynynen K, Czarnota GJ, Chu W. Magnetic resonance-guided high intensity focused ultrasound for palliation of painful skeletal metastases: a pilot study. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2017 Oct;16(5):570–76.
4. Chu W, Staruch R, Pichardo S, Tillander M, Kohler M, Huang Y, Ylihautala M, McGuffin M, Czarnota G, Hynynen K. Magnetic resonance-guided high intensity focused ultrasound hyperthermia for recurrent rectal cancer: MR thermometry evaluation and preclinical validation. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016 Jul 15; 95(4):1259–67.
5. Chang J, Cheung P, Erler D, Sonier M, Korol R, Chu W. Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy for primary renal cell carcinoma in non-surgical candidates: Initial clinical experience. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2016 Sep; 28(9):e109–14.

Related News and Stories:

• Answering the call: Researchers devise remedy for skin burns during radiotherapy (Oct. 20, 2017)
• Using heat and real-time imaging to enhance cancer treatment, Sunnybrook Magazine, Spring 2016

Related Links:

• U of T profile