Dr. Rajiv (Raj) Dahiya received his MD from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine in 1994. Since January of 2016, Dr. Rajiv Dahiya has worked as an oncologist at the Premier Cancer Centers in Dallas, TX.
Premier Cancer Centers is setting the new standard for cancer treatments, and one potentially revolutionary new development in cancer treatment is the breakthrough in gene research. Every cancer results from some type of mutation in DNA in the patient’s body.In 2013, British researchers developed the first map for the mutational process of tumors, and this should lead to superior treatment for many different cancers. In the study published in the journal Nature, scientists investigated more than 7,000 genomes of various cancers, and isolated 21 unique processes that result in DNA mutation.The study also revealed that there are at least two processes involved in the 30 cancer types in the study, with even more for some cancers. For instance, ovarian cancer had only two mutational processes, while six were present in liver cancer. They also found that a group of enzymes called APOBECs which have been shown to mutate DNA were also involved in more than half the cancers involved in the research.
As a radiation oncologist at Premier Cancer Centers in Dallas, TX, Dr. Rajiv “Raj” Dahiya works with a broad range of advanced radiation technologies. Dr. Rajiv “Raj” Dahiya treats many of his patients with the CyberKnife M6, a robotic radiosurgery system.
Developed by the Accuray company, the CyberKnife M6 offers a noninvasive alternative to surgery for many cancer patients. It uses image guidance technology to specifically pinpoint a patient's tumor, which the system tracks throughout the course of treatment. This leads to precisely targeted radiation delivery with strong tumor-coverage rates and optimized conformal dosing, which maximizes effectiveness while minimizing secondary damage.The treatment starts with preliminary imaging, which the radiation oncologist uses to plan the delivery of a dose. This plan serves as an instruction to the CyberKnife's computer-facilitated robot, which positions the machine in those locations determined to be most effective. The robot delivers the necessary radiation over the course of up to five sessions, each of which lasts 30 to 90 minutes.The CyberKnife system has the capacity to treat tumors throughout the body and does not require any rigid positioning systems. Patients remain comfortably positioned throughout the treatment process and most often experience only minimal side effects, which typically resolve themselves in less than 48 hours.
Rajiv Dahiya, MD, is a radiation oncologist with more than two decades of medical experience. In addition to practicing his specialty at Premier Cancer Centers in Dallas, TX, Dr. Raj Dahiya is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).ASTRO is made up of more than 10,000 medical professionals in the field of radiation treatment, a community that, together, annually treats more than a million patients suffering from cancer. Each year, ASTRO hosts an annual meeting attended by more than 11,000 individuals. The 58th installment took place in September 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts, and focused on “Enhancing Value, Improving Outcomes.” Over the course of five days, the annual meeting offered educational workshops and seminars, networking receptions, panels, and an exhibition. In addition to presidential symposiums, which examined value in radiation oncology and comparison of treatment modalities, the event held sessions on hematology, innovative technologies in physics, palliative care, and the effect of radiation on tissue.Participants also had the opportunity to attend specialized sessions studying aspects of individual cancer diagnoses such as cervical, prostate, bladder, lung, and head and neck cancers. The 59th ASTRO annual meeting – “The Healing Art and Science of Radiation Oncology” – will take place September 24-27, 2017, in San Diego, California.
