Glenn J Hanna, MD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Academic Titles

Associate Professor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Research Program Affiliation

Member, Head and Neck Cancer

Member, Cancer Immunology

Research Abstract

I am an academic head and neck medical oncologist committed to a career as a clinical and translational investigator. I am a clinical expert in the care and management of patients with head and neck cancers, maintaining a broad regional referral network for this complex area of oncology. I see patients during 4 ambulatory half-sessions per week at the DFCI and serve as an inpatient solid tumor oncology attending up to 12 weeks per year and consult attending for 4 months per year. The rest of my time is devoted to clinical-translational research efforts to improve outcomes for head and neck cancer patients, along with administrative and teaching responsibilities. Within my oncology subspecialty, my clinical practice is dominated by patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers and treating those with advanced, incurable squamous cell carcinoma arising in the head and neck. I have published several chapters and reviews pertaining to these topics, as well as helped clarify the role of induction chemotherapy strategies in this disease. I am the head and neck lead in developing the DFCI Clinical Pathways to treat these complex patients: institute guidelines aimed to improve care delivery at our affiliates and satellites across the DFCI care network.

My clinical and translational research efforts are focused on molecular and immunologic biomarker discovery and development in head and neck cancer to promote precision medicine and improve patient outcomes. To that end, I have helped define the role of mTOR inhibitors in advanced thyroid cancer, proposed novel targets for rare head and neck cancer subtypes, launched the development of a novel blood-assay to monitor viral-associated cancers, and published on immunologic parameters that predict immunotherapy response – work that has resulted in presentations at national meetings and several high-impact publications, while fueling novel clinical trial concepts. I received a collaborative institutional grant to study the genomic landscape of oral cancers in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation survivors to identify actionable therapeutic targets. I also have foundation and industry grant support to foster precision immuno-oncology approaches to treat head and neck cancers. I am heavily invested in educational and teaching activities with all levels of trainees across my affiliated institutions. To that end, I am currently mentoring a clinical research coordinator and HMS student in methods of clinical research. I regularly precept HMS courses aimed at introducing junior medical students to clinical care and doctoring. I provide clinical supervision to medicine housestaff and physician assistants on the solid tumor oncology services. In addition, I am the co-director of the DFCI/BWH oncology pathology conference: a weekly multidisciplinary venue that facilitates clinicopathologic correlation in a case-based format which serves as a key teaching conference for first year medical oncology fellows. I also regularly teach BWH medicine residents and fellows the head and neck cancer unit using both didactic and case-based discussions.