Aileen Chen, M.D.
Department of Thoracic Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology
About Dr. Aileen Chen
Dr. Aileen Chen received her MD from Harvard Medical School and has a degree in Health Care Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She completed her residency at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program and was on faculty at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School until 2018.
Dr. Chen is currently a member of the Thoracic Radiation Oncology Service and Department of Health Services Research at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She specializes in the treatment of all types of thoracic cancer, including lung cancer, esophagus cancer, thymoma, and mesothelioma, and is working to improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy, with fewer side effects. In addition, she has an interest in refining the use of radiation therapy for patients with metastatic disease.Dr Chen's research focuses on improving quality, value, and care experience for patients. She has published numerous peer-reviewed studies and received funding from the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, and NIH/NCI.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2002 | Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 2002 | Harvard JFK School of Government, Cambridge, MA, USA, MPP, Health Care Policy |
| 1997 | Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, USA, AB, Applied Mathematics/Economics |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2008 | American Board of Radiology |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2011 - 2018
Instructor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2007 - 2011
Other Professional Positions
Senior Physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, 2015 - 2018
Associate Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, 2007 - 2018
Physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, 2007 - 2015
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2014 - 2016 |
| Title: | Exploratory analysis of the SEER-Medicare dataset to estimate cost of cancer treatment |
| Funding Source: | American Society for Radiation Oncology |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Date: | 2014 - 2019 |
| Title: | A high efficiency imager for real-time lung cancer monitoring during radiotherapy |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| ID: | 1R01CA188446-01 |
| Date: | 2014 - Present |
| Title: | Improving physician-patient communication regarding goals of radiation therapy |
| Funding Source: | Gloria Spivak Faculty Advancement Fund |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Date: | 2013 - Present |
| Title: | Comparative effectiveness of advanced radiation therapy technologies for lung cancer |
| Funding Source: | Gloria Spivak Faculty Advancement Fund |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Date: | 2010 - 2013 |
| Title: | Use of palliative radiation in patients with stage IV lung cancer |
| Funding Source: | American Cancer Society Mentored Research Scholar Grant |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Kroll JL, Jones M, Chen AB, Yang CC, Carmack CL, Cohen L, Bruera E, Milbury K. End-of-Life Care, Symptom Burden, and Quality of Life in Couples Facing Stage IV Lung Cancer: The Role of Patient and Spousal Psychospirituality and Discussions Around Fear of Death and Disease Progression. J Palliat Med 26(5):690-696, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36856536.
- Wandrey NE, Gao D, Robin TP, Contessa JN, Singh C, Chiang V, Li J, Chen A, Wang Y, Sheehan JP, Dutta SW, Weiss SE, Paly J, Rusthoven CG. Multicenter analysis of stereotactic radiosurgery for multiple brain metastases from EGFR and ALK driven non-small cell lung cancer. Lung Cancer 176:144-148, 2023. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36641932.
- Xu T, Wu L, Gandhi S, Jing W, Nguyen QN, Chen A, Chang JY, Nurieva R, Sheshadri A, Altan M, Lee PP, Lin SH, Liao Z. Treatment-related pulmonary adverse events induced by chemoradiation and Durvalumab affect survival in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Radiother Oncol 176:149-156, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36209942.
- Snyder S, Kroll JL, Chen AB, Antonoff MB, Yang CC, Milbury K. Moderators of the association between stigma and psychological and cancer-related symptoms in women with non-small cell lung cancer. Psychooncology 31(9):1581-1588, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35726392.
- Lin SH, Liao K, Lei X, Verma V, Shaaban S, Lee P, Chen AB, Koong AC, Hoftstetter WL, Frank SJ, Liao Z, Shih YT, Giordano SH, Smith GL. Health Care Resource Utilization for Esophageal Cancer Using Proton versus Photon Radiation Therapy. Int J Part Ther 9(1):18-27, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35774487.
- Chen JJ, Roldan CS, Nichipor AN, Balboni TA, Krishnan MS, Revette AC, Hertan LM, Chen AB. Patient-Provider Communication, Decision-Making, and Psychosocial Burdens in Palliative Radiotherapy: A Qualitative Study on Patients' Perspectives. J Pain Symptom Manage 62(3):512-522, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33556491.
- Jing W, Liu Y, Zhu H, Welsh J, Gandhi S, Jeter M, Nguyen Q, Chen AB, O'Reilly M, Liao Z, Chang JY, Lee P, Lin SH. Prognosis of severe lymphopenia after postoperative radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: Results of a long-term follow up study. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 28:54-61, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33778173.
- Grant SR, Smith BD, Colbert LE, Nguyen QN, Yu JB, Lin SH, Chen AB. National Quality Measure Compliance for Palliative Bone Radiation Among Patients With Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. J Natl Compr Canc Netw:1-6. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34044365.
- Chen AB, Niu J, Cronin AM, Shih YT, Giordano S, Schrag D. Variation in Use of High-Cost Technologies for Palliative Radiation Therapy by Radiation Oncologists. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 19(4):421-431, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33578375.
- Gjyshi O, Xu T, Elhammali A, Boyce-Fappiano D, Chun SG, Gandhi S, Lee P, Chen AB, Lin SH, Chang JY, Tsao A, Gay CM, Zhu XR, Zhang X, Heymach JV, Fossella FV, Lu C, Nguyen QN, Liao Z. Toxicity and Survival After Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy Versus Passive Scattering Proton Therapy for NSCLC. J Thorac Oncol 16(2):269-277, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33198942.
- Mesko S, Ning MS, Lakomy D, Verma V, Chang JY, O'Reilly M, Jeter MD, Gandhi SJ, Lin SH, Nguyen QN, Liao Z, Welsh J, Chen AB, Hahn S, Gomez DR. Thoracic radiation oncology clinical trial accrual and reasons for nonenrollment: Results of a large, prospective, multiyear analysis. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 107(5):897-908, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32360653.
- Milligan MG, Cronin AM, Colson Y, Kehl K, Yeboa DN, Schrag D, Chen AB. Overuse of diagnostic brain imaging among patients with stage IA non-small cell lung cancer. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 18(5):547-554, 2020. PMID: 32380461.
- Yu JB, Brock KK, Campbell AM, Chen AB, Diaz R, Escorcia FE, Gupta G, Hrinivich WT, Joseph S, Korpics M, Onderdonk BE, Pandit-Taskar N, Wood BJ, Woodward WA. Proceedings of the ASTRO-RSNA oligometastatic disease research workshop. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32434040.
- Raldow AC, Sher D, Chen AB, Punglia RS. Cost effectiveness of DCISionRT for guiding treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ. JNCI Cancer Spectr 4(2):pkaa004, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32211582.
- Moreno AC, Fellman B, Hobbs BP, Liao Z, Gomez DR, Chen AB, Hahn SM, Chang JY, Lin SH. Biologically effective dose in stereotactic body radiotherapy and survival for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31479748.
- Kamran SC, Coroller T, Milani N, Agrawal V, Baldini EH, Chen AB, Johnson BE, Kozono D, Franco I, Chopra N, Zeleznik R, Aerts HJWL, Mak R. The impact of quantitative CT-based tumor volumetric features on the outcomes of patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer. Radiat Oncol 15(1):14, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31937336.
- Atkins KM, Rawal B, Chaunzwa TL, Lamba N, Bitterman DS, Williams CL, Kozono DE, Baldini EH Chen AB, Nguyen PL, D'Amico AV, Nohria A Hoffmann U, Aerts HJWL, Mak RJ. Cardiac radiation dose, cardiac disease, and mortality in patients with lung cancer. J AM Coll Cardiol 73(23):2976-2987, 2019. PMID: 31196455.
- Raldow AC, Chen AB, Russell M, Lee PP, Hong TS, Ryan DP, Cusack JC, Wo JY. Cost-effectiveness of short-course radiation therapy vs long-course chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer. JAMA Netw Open 2(4):e192249, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30977859.
- Chen AB, Li L, Cronin AM, Brooks GA, Kavanagh BD, Schrag D. Estimating costs of care attributable to cancer: does the choice of comparison group matter?. Health Serv Res 53 Suppl 1:3227-3244, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28858372.
- Lam MB, Li L, Cronin A, Schrag D, Chen AB. Palliative radiation and fractionation in medicare patients with incurable non-small cell lung cancer. Adv Radiat Oncol 3(3):382-390, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30202806.
- Mak KS, van Bommel AC, Stowell C, Abrahm JL, Baker M, Baldotto CS, Baldwin DR, Borthwick D, Carbone DP, Chen AB, Fox J, Haswell T, Koczywas M, Kozower BD, Mehran RJ, Schramel FM, Senan S, Stirling RG, van Meerbeeck JP, Wouters MW, Peake MD, Lung Cancer Working Group of ICHOM. Defining a standard set of patient-centered outcomes for lung cancer. Eur Respir J 48(3):852-60, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27390281.
- Chen RC, Hoffman KE, Sher DJ, Showalter TN, Morrell R, Chen AB, Benda R, Nguyen PL, Movsas B, Hardenbergh P. Development of a standard survivorship care plan template for radiation oncologists. Pract Radiat Oncol 6(1):57-65, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26778795.
- Chen AB, Li L, Cronin A, Schrag D. Comparative effectiveness of intensity-modulated versus 3D conformal radiation therapy among medicare patients with stage III lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 9(12):1788-95, 2014. PMID: 25226428.
- Parikh RB, Cronin AM, Kozono DE, Oxnard GR, Mak RH, Jackman DM, Lo PC, Baldini EH, Johnson BE, Chen AB. Definitive primary therapy in patients presenting with oligometastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 89(4):880-7, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24867533.
- Chen AB, Cronin A, Weeks JC, Chrischilles EA, Malin J, Hayman JA, Schrag D. Expectations about the effectiveness of radiation therapy among patients with incurable lung cancer. J Clin Oncol 31(21):2730-5, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23775958.
- Chen AB, Cronin A, Weeks JC, Chrischilles EA, Malin J, Hayman JA, Schrag D. Palliative radiation therapy practice in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: a Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium (CanCORS) Study. J Clin Oncol 31(5):558-64, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23295799.
- Chen AB, Feng Y, Neuberg D, Recklitis C, Diller LR, Mauch PN, Ng AK. Employment and insurance in survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma and their siblings: a questionnaire study. Leuk Lymphoma 53(8):1474-80, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22280535.
- Zhu J, Sharma DB, Gray SW, Chen AB, Weeks JC, Schrag D. Carboplatin and paclitaxel with vs without bevacizumab in older patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. JAMA 307(15):1593-601, 2012. PMID: 22511687.
- Aristophanous M, Yong Y, Yap JT, Killoran JH, Allen AM, Berbeco RI, Chen AB. Evaluating FDG uptake changes between pre and post therapy respiratory gated PET scans. Radiother Oncol 102(3):377-82, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22265731.
- Chen AB, Neville BA, Sher DJ, Chen K, Schrag D. Survival outcomes after radiation therapy for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer after adoption of computed tomography-based simulation. J Clin Oncol 29(17):2305-11, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21537034.
- Chen AB, Punglia RS, Kuntz KM, Mauch PM, Ng AK. Cost effectiveness and screening interval of lipid screening in Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors. J Clin Oncol 27(32):5383-9, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19752333.
- Chen AB, D'Amico AV, Neville BA, Earle CC. Patient and treatment factors associated with complications after prostate brachytherapy. J Clin Oncol 24(33):5298-304, 2006. PMID: 17114664.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified September 22, 2023