Barbara Burtness, MD
Anthony N. Brady Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology)Cards
About
Research
Overview
Studies of targeted treatments for EGFR expressed head and neck cancers, including biomarkers of resistance and novel strategies such as dual EGFR blockade, to overcome resistance. She has demonstrated that loss of PTEN indicates resistance to EGFR inhibition in head and neck cancer, and studied novel dual EGFR/HDAC inhibitors and combined antibody and tyrosine kinase inhibition as strategies to improve responsiveness to EGFR inhibition. She leads the ECOG-ACRIN Head and Neck Therapeutics Committee, which conducts large multicenter trials in head and neck cancer, and chairs multicenter trials of targeted therapy and immunotherapy in head and neck cancer. Her laboratory studies novel combinatorial therapies to target p53 mutated head and neck cancer.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Barbara Burtness, MD, is a Yale Medicine medical oncologist who sees patients at Yale Cancer Center. She has made it her life’s mission to help people diagnosed with head and neck cancer, which can be a devastating disease even after it is cured—it can impact a person’s appearance, as well as the ability to speak, swallow, and eat.
“Patients often encounter unpleasant outcomes that can include difficulty swallowing solid foods, impaired nutrition, aspiration, and feeding tube dependence,” says Dr. Burtness. “Younger patients may have to deal with these side effects for decades after cancer treatment.”
A careful treatment approach can help prevent these problems. She and her team evaluate the tumor location and decide which primary treatment (surgery or radiation therapy) will best cure the cancer and cause the fewest possible negative outcomes.
A professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Burtness’ research lab is actively studying new cures for head and neck cancers. “We want to help improve these patients’ quality of life,” she says.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Oropharyngeal Cancer
Learn More on Yale MedicineHead and Neck Cancer
Learn More on Yale MedicineOral Cancer
Learn More on Yale MedicineLaryngeal Surgery
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Internal Medicine
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Original Certification Date
- 1989
Yale Medicine News
News & Links
News
- September 30, 2024
YCC Publications 2024
- September 20, 2024Source: Oncology News
ESMO 2024: Chemotherapy before surgery helps patients with nose and sinus cancer avoid debilitating eye and bone removal
- July 24, 2024
Drs. Barbara Burtness and Maryam Lustberg named Fellows of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
- June 19, 2024Source: OncLive
Dr Burtness on Subgroup Outcomes for Transoral Surgery and Risk-Based Radiation in HPV+ Oropharynx Cancer