Diagnostic Imaging: Value from the Lens of the Patient

Bruce G. Haffty, MD, is RSNA president and associate vice chancellor, Cancer Programs, at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. He also serves as professor and chairman in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Dr. Haffty completed his medical school and residency training at Yale University School of Medicine in 1988 and spent the next 18 years specializing in breast, head and neck cancers in Yale’s Department of Therapeutic Radiology. He served on the faculty at Yale from 1988 through 2005. Dr. Haffty was promoted to professor of therapeutic radiology in 2000, served as residency program director from 1992 through 2004, and as vice chairman and clinical director from 2002 to 2005.

Dr. Haffty has authored or co-authored 50 books, book chapters and theses, more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and numerous editorials, commentaries and letters. Dr. Haffty is a leader in national clinical trials and is currently co-investigator on several national clinical trials through the NRG Oncology and Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology cooperative groups. He has given many scientific research presentations nationally and internationally, and has been an invited lecturer or visiting professor at nearly 180 institutions and meetings worldwide.

At Rutgers’ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey Medical School and Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Dr. Haffty spearheaded the expansion of the radiation oncology program and developed residency programs in radiation oncology and medical physics—the only such programs in the state of New Jersey.

Through his extensive work with the American Society for Radiation Oncology, Dr. Haffty served as the founding president of the Association of Directors of Radiation Oncology Programs (ADROP) in 2000, providing tools and resources to advance the quality of residency training and education in radiation oncology. He served as ADROP president from 2000 to 2003.

Dr. Haffty’s research on new methods of delivering radiation therapy for breast cancer has focused on molecular and genetic factors as they relate to radiation resistance and outcomes in patients. His Lancet-published research on BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations in conservatively managed breast cancer documented high rates of second primary ipsilateral breast cancers (cancers affecting the same treated breast) and has impacted clinical practice. His research has created unique factors associated with outcomes, paving the way for molecular targeted therapies in combination with radiation.

In addition to editing the comprehensive Handbook of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Haffty has served on numerous editorial boards, such as The Cancer Journal, International Journal of Radiation Oncology - Biology - Physics, Clinical Cancer Research, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Therapeutics, Women’s Oncology Review, Radiation Oncology Investigations, Oncology Reports and Breast Diseases: A Year Book Quarterly. Dr. Haffty also serves as a frequent reviewer for The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Cancer, Lancet, and others. He currently serves as deputy editor of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Haffty was named RSNA Outstanding Educator in 2013. He has served on the RSNA Board of Directors since 2014.

In his President’s Address, Dr. Haffty will explore the patient perspective in the health care continuum.

“From reducing uncertainty and anxiety to empowering patients with knowledge and giving them a greater sense of control, the value of imaging to our patients is often underestimated among radiologists, and certainly among other members of the health care team,” Dr. Haffty says.