Dr. David Brizel

Biography

David Manfield Brizel is the Leonard Prosnitz Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Radiation Oncology at Duke University School of Medicine. He has been significantly involved in head and neck cancer research since joining Duke in 1987. He designed and led a pivotal phase 3 randomized clinical trial that demonstrated the efficacy of concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, establishing a non-surgical standard of care for treating locally advanced head and neck cancer. His work also includes a multinational randomized trial on the use of amifostine for protecting against radiation-induced xerostomia, which led to FDA approval for this drug. Brizel has investigated the role of recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor in ameliorating mucositis and has committed to studying tumor physiology and biology, including novel approaches to directly measure tumor oxygenation. His research has established a prognostic relationship between tumor hypoxia and local-regional failure survival. Additionally, studies on soft tissue sarcomas have shown hypoxia's association with increased risk of metastatic recurrence. His ongoing interests include developing functional metabolic imaging techniques to predict treatment outcomes and understand relationships between treatment delivery and the risks of toxicity.

Research Interests

Experience