Mitigation of Cancer Therapy Side-Effects with Light

'Light' from low level laser therapy, through a process called photobiomodulation (PBM), has been in existence in supportive care in cancer, in particular in the management of oral mucositis (OM) in patients undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this book the authors attempt to portray the current status of the supportive care interventions that are possible with PBM using low level laser therapy (LLLT) in patients undergoing cancer treatment for solid tumours, harmatological malignancies, and head and neck cancers.

Raj is a Professor of Oral Medicine/Oral Oncology, Acting Deputy Head of School (Research), Higher Degree Research (HDR) Convenor, Discipline Head of Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Human Diseases at Griffith University and Oral Oncology Consultant, Department of Haematology and Oncology (Cancer Services), Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH), Queensland Health, Gold Coast, Australia. He is a member of Cancer Research group of Menzies Health Institute Queensland. Raj is an educator who convenes university courses in the discipline of oral medicine, oral pathology, and internal medicine and contributes to the education of specialist trainees and nurses at the hospital. He is Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

He has received his oral medicine/oncology clinical training as a fellow at Harvard and affiliated hospitals, USA and from the University of London, UK and research scholarship recipient, Centre for Blood Disorders, Harvard Medical School. He obtained his PhD from the University of Hong Kong in 1996. He was awarded membership in the special stream of Oral Medicine by the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS) in 2008.

He is an internationally renowned clinician and researcher in the fields of oral medicine, oral oncology and orofacial supportive care and the management of cancer patients on chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. He has over 100 publications and book chapter contributions. Internationally, he has served as an invited speaker and presenter of numerous scientific research papers in the past two decades. His current research projects include microbiome and cancer and international multi-centre studies on photobiomodulation (PBM) in cancer-therapy induced complications and burden of illness especially oral mucositis and other complications amongst cancer patients in partnership with universities in the USA and Europe.

He is a member of International Society of Oral Oncology (ISOO), Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC), American Academy of Oral Medicine, Harvard Club of Australia and International Association for Dental Research. He serves as invited consultant at international consensus bodies such as World Workshop in Oral Medicine, World Workshop in Oral Health and Diseases in AIDS. He was a director-councillor of the RACDS and currently director board member of ISOO and IADR oral medicine/pathology section and founding board member of International Group in Light in Oncology-Barcelona (iGLOB). He is chair of PBM in cancer working group and chair of the PBM study group/mucositis study group of MASCC.

Professor René-Jean Bensadoun is a Radiation Oncologist and Professor of Oncology-Radiotherapy. He was Head of Radiotherapy Department at the Centre Antoine Lacassagne in Nice (2006-2008), and Head of the Department of Radiotherapy at the University Hospital of Poitiers, Regional Cancer Pole, from 2008 to 2014. He currently heads the Nice High Energy Centre (private structure of Radiotherapy and Supportive Care).

His special interests are in the field of aerodigestive tract cancers and in the dosimetry of photobiomodulation using low level light in supportive care in cancer and cancer therapy complications, since the early 1980's. He was involved in several clinical trials and meta-analysis position articles in the field of radiation and chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis.

Professor Bensadoun has published over 220 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 69 as first or last author, and authored two books published in the US on the use of low-energy laser in cancer. His key publication with Professor Bjordal has led to the World Association of Laser Therapy (WALT) guidelines for the use of Photobiomodulation in Oncology. He is very active in organizing theoretical and practical courses in Photobiomodulation in France with Dr Pelletier of the European LED Academy.

He is currently the scientific secretary of World Association for Laser Therapy (WALT), a Member of the Board of the French Society of Oncology Neck-Facial, Groupe Oncologie Radiotherapie Tête et Cou (GORTEC), AFSOS, LED Academy, and Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC).