James B. Yu, MD, MHS, FASTRO
Cards
Appointments
Contact Info
Radiation Oncology
1 Medical Center Drive
Lebanon, NH 03766
United States
About
Titles
Assistant Professor Adjunct
Biography
James Yu, MD, MHS, is Professor of Radiation Oncology and Genitourinary Cancers Radiotherapy Lead at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
He is a former Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Yale School of Medicine, former Associate Chief Medical Officer of the Smilow Cancer Hospital and Care Centers and Executive Vice Chair of Columbia University Irving Medical Center Department of Radiation Oncology.
In his academic work, Dr. Yu conducts research on ways to use radiotherapy treatments to improve outcomes for cancer patients. “We need to push the field ever forward and not be satisfied with merely prolonging survival,” says Dr. Yu. “I think radiosurgery will play a role in this. As systemic therapies improve and our ability to control microscopically disseminated disease improves, noninvasive ablative therapies will become ever more important.”
As a former Yale Center for Clinical Investigation scholar and founding member of the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale, Dr. Yu’s research centers on the comparative effectiveness of new radiation technologies and how these new technologies are adopted nationally.
Dr. Yu is the Editor-in Chief of JNCI Cancer Spectrum, Deputy Editor-In-Chief of the journal Practical Radiation Oncology and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Oncology - Clinical Cancer Informatics, JNCI, Journal of Surgical Oncology, and Oncology (Williston Park), and former editorial board member of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
He has published over 350 original manuscripts and co-edited the textbook Pocket Radiation Oncology and Principles of Clinical Cancer Research. He is the radiation oncology co-chair for the Southwest Oncology Group Genitourinary Cancers Committee, and a nationally recognized expert in patient reported outcomes.
Appointments
Medical Oncology and Hematology
Assistant Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Brain Tumor Center
- Center for Biomedical Data Science
- COPPER Center
- Gamma Knife Center
- Internal Medicine
- Medical Oncology
- Medical Oncology and Hematology
- Pituitary Program
- Prostate & Urologic Cancers Program
- Radiation Oncology
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- MHS
- Yale University, Masters of Health Science (2014)
- Resident
- Yale New Haven Hospital (2009)
- Chief Resident
- Yale School of Medicine (2009)
- Intern
- California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA (2005)
- MD
- University of Michigan Medical School (2004)
- BS
- Yale University (1999)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
ORCID
0000-0002-3119-3226- View Lab Website
Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Henry S. Park, MD, MPH
Cary Gross, MD
Veronica Chiang, MD, FAANS
Sanjay Aneja, MD
Kenneth B. Roberts, MD
Lynn D. Wilson, MD, MPH, FASTRO
Breast Neoplasms
Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Publications
2025
Mediators of Racial Inequities in Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer Care
Hamid S, Lee D, Herrin J, Yu J, Pollack C, Dean L, Gaddy J, Oladele C, Feder S, Canavan M, Nunez-Smith M, Soulos P, Gross C. Mediators of Racial Inequities in Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer Care. Cancer Medicine 2025, 14: e70757. PMID: 40052387, DOI: 10.1002/cam4.70757.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNon-small cell lung cancer carePhase of careSocioeconomic statusNon-small cell lung cancerIndividual-level socioeconomic statusNeighborhood-level socioeconomic statusMedicare-Medicaid dual eligibilityWhite patientsHealth care accessLung cancer careNon-Hispanic blacksIndirect effects of mediatorsDiagnosis stageStage-appropriate treatmentTwo-year survivalCancer careCare accessEffects of raceOptimal careDual eligiblesCareStructural racismRacial inequalityBlack patientsInadequate evaluation
2024
Comparative Effectiveness of SBRT
Shen J, Sritharan D, Yu J, Aneja S. Comparative Effectiveness of SBRT. 2024, 455-467. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-67743-4_33.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsStereotactic body radiation therapyEffect of stereotactic body radiation therapyAlternative to other treatment modalitiesStereotactic body radiation therapy treatmentLong-term follow-up of patientsFollow-up of patientsLong-term follow-upTreatment of brainOligometastatic diseaseRadiation therapyTreatment of cancerRetrospective seriesTreatment modalitiesRenal cancerCost-effectiveness studiesDatabase analysisCancerTreatmentProstateTherapyInappropriate Denials for Radiation Therapy in Medicare Advantage Plans
Pasetsky J, Bhatt K, Kachnic L, Yu J, Horowitz D. Inappropriate Denials for Radiation Therapy in Medicare Advantage Plans. International Journal Of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics 2024, 121: 871-874. PMID: 39551102, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.11.063.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsIntensity-modulated RTRadiation therapyStereotactic body radiation therapyHealth servicesMedicare Advantage plansMedicare-eligible patientsChi-square testRadiation oncologistsProstate cancerTreatment modalitiesBreast cancerCancer treatmentTherapyCancerRT servicesPolicy changesMedicaid Services websiteCoverage guidelinesDenial ratesMedical specialtiesCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services websiteTreatmentDenialBrachytherapyProstateRadiation Therapy for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
Yu J, Grew D, Spraker M, Beckta J, Shah C, Brower J. Radiation Therapy for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis. Practical Radiation Oncology 2024, 15: 19-24. PMID: 39503700, DOI: 10.1016/j.prro.2024.09.003.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsRadiation therapyAssessment of treatment responseTreatment of osteoarthritisMedically refractory diseaseNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugsNoninvasive treatment optionCause of painCyclooxygenase-2 inhibitorsIntra-articular corticosteroid therapyAnti-inflammatory drugsCorticosteroid therapyRefractory diseaseTreatment responseTreatment optionsClinical evidenceOlder patientsTherapyCyclooxygenase-2PatientsTraditional treatmentPhysical therapyPainTreatmentOsteoarthritisTechnical considerationsTestosterone Recovery and Associated Impact on Patient-Reported Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) after Treatment with 6 Months of GnRH Agonist with or without Abiraterone Acetate plus Prednisone (AAP) and Apalutamide (Apa) in the FORMULA-509 Trial
Moningi S, Nguyen P, Rathkopf D, Zurita-Saavedra A, Spratt D, Dess R, Liauw S, Szmulewitz R, Einstein D, Bubley G, Yu J, An Y, Wong A, Feng F, Mckay R, Rose B, Shin K, Taplin M, Kollmeier M, Hoffman K. Testosterone Recovery and Associated Impact on Patient-Reported Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) after Treatment with 6 Months of GnRH Agonist with or without Abiraterone Acetate plus Prednisone (AAP) and Apalutamide (Apa) in the FORMULA-509 Trial. International Journal Of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics 2024, 120: e563-e564. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.07.1247.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMonths of GnRH agonistTestosterone recoveryGnRH agonistAssociated with lackClinically meaningful changeBaseline testosteroneAssociated with testosterone recoveryMedian follow-upEvaluated prior to treatmentTreatment groupsTrial randomized patientsHormonal functionPatient-reported health-related quality of lifeLog-rank testCompletion of treatmentMultivariate logistic regressionWilcoxon rank-sumPatient-reported HRQoL.Salvage radiationGleason scoreAbiraterone acetateHigher PSARecovery 1 yearRandomized patientsHealth-related quality of lifeLong-Term Patient-Reported Health-Related Quality of Life in the Randomized FORMULA-509 Trial of Salvage Radiotherapy and 6 Months of GnRH Agonist with Either Bicalutamide or Abiraterone Acetate Plus Prednisone and Apalutamide after Radical Prostatectomy
Hoffman K, Nguyen P, Rathkopf D, Zurita-Saavedra A, Spratt D, Dess R, Liauw S, Szmulewitz R, Einstein D, Bubley G, Yu J, An Y, Wong A, Feng F, Mckay R, Rose B, Lee K, Kibel A, Taplin M, Kollmeier M. Long-Term Patient-Reported Health-Related Quality of Life in the Randomized FORMULA-509 Trial of Salvage Radiotherapy and 6 Months of GnRH Agonist with Either Bicalutamide or Abiraterone Acetate Plus Prednisone and Apalutamide after Radical Prostatectomy. International Journal Of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics 2024, 120: s54. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.07.088.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAbiraterone acetate plus prednisoneMonths of GnRH agonistAcetate plus prednisonePatient-reported health-related quality of lifeEPIC-26Hormonal functionHealth-related quality of lifeGnRH agonistTreatment armsTreatment to 1 yearQuality of lifeMental statusMetastasis-free survivalBaseline to endCompletion of treatmentSalvage radiationSalvage radiotherapyOncological outcomesRadical prostatectomyClinically meaningful differencesSaint Louis University Mental Status ExamNear baselineClinically meaningful declineT-scoreHormonal domainsInappropriate Denials for Radiation Therapy in Medicare Advantage Plans: An Independent Review Entity and Call for Action
Pasetsky J, Kachnic L, Yu J, Horowitz D. Inappropriate Denials for Radiation Therapy in Medicare Advantage Plans: An Independent Review Entity and Call for Action. International Journal Of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics 2024, 120: s127. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.07.230.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRadiation therapyCenters for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesTraditional MedicareMA plansLife-saving cancer treatmentStatistically significant higher rateGrowing body of literatureBody of literatureMA star ratingsSignificantly higher ratesMedicare AdvantageUnfavorable decisionsHospice careStarsImprove accessCancer treatmentDenialRT servicesServicesAppealStar ratingsGrowing bodyCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services websiteMedicare Advantage plansTherapyCancer care and the coconut tree: all in which it lives, and has come before
Yu J. Cancer care and the coconut tree: all in which it lives, and has come before. JNCI Cancer Spectrum 2024, 8: pkae083. PMID: 39428118, PMCID: PMC11491160, DOI: 10.1093/jncics/pkae083.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchReply to O. Saifi et al
Yu J, DeStephano D, Horowitz D, Gross C, Cheng S. Reply to O. Saifi et al. Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2024, 42: 3763-3764. PMID: 39079081, DOI: 10.1200/jco-24-01228.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPeer-to-Peer Phone Calls and Letters Appealing Insurance Denials of Service: Practical Tips and Resources
Pasetsky J, Garcia-Young J, Beatley E, Yu J. Peer-to-Peer Phone Calls and Letters Appealing Insurance Denials of Service: Practical Tips and Resources. Practical Radiation Oncology 2024, 14: e434-e437. PMID: 39089624, DOI: 10.1016/j.prro.2024.06.015.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and Concepts
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Honors
honor Fellow
07/17/2023National AwardAmerican Society for Radiation OncologyDetailsUnited Stateshonor Cancer Prevention and Control Research Prize
12/31/2017Yale School of Medicine AwardYale Cancer CenterDetailsUnited Stateshonor Population Research Prize
11/22/2013Yale School of Medicine AwardYale Cancer CenterDetailsUnited Stateshonor Seattle Prostate Brachytherapy Fellow
01/01/2009National AwardAmerican Brachytherapy SocietyDetailsUnited Stateshonor Roentgen Resident Research Award
01/01/2008National AwardRSNADetailsUnited States
News & Links
News
- July 17, 2024Source: Cancer Network
AI Use May Improve Treatment Outcomes in Prostate Cancer
- September 02, 2021
Smilow Cancer Hospital Patient and Family Forum
- June 05, 2019Source: OncLive
[VIDEO] Dr. Yu on the Drawbacks of Radiation Therapy in Prostate Cancer
- January 30, 2019Source: SpaceOAR Hydrogel
Meet Henry, a Patient who Prioritized His Health and Quality of Life When Facing Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Related Links
Get In Touch
Contacts
Radiation Oncology
1 Medical Center Drive
Lebanon, NH 03766
United States