Oral Oncology – An Expanded Role for the Dentist in Cancer Care

Speakers:

Speaker: Prof. Nathaniel S. Treister
DMD, DMSc, DABOM (Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine) 

Oral Medicine Specialist and Clinical Director of Oral Medicine and Oral Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA)

Associate Professor of Oral Medicine, Harvard School of Dental Medicine
USA

Bio:

Dr. Treister is an oral medicine specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Clinical Director of Oral Medicine and Oral Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, Massachusetts, and Associate Professor of Oral Medicine at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He is board certified in Oral Medicine and practices at BWH, DFCI, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, with special interest in oral mucosal diseases, salivary gland diseases, orofacial pain disorders, and oral complications in cancer patients.

Dr. Dario Di Stasio
DMD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Oral Medicine,
University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”

First Level Medical Director, Unit of Oral Medicine & Oral Pathology, Department of Oral Surgery,
University Hospital “Luigi Vanvitelli”

ITALY

Bio:

Dr. Dario Di Stasio is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Oral Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” First-Level Medical Director, University Hospital “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Unit of Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology, Department of Oral Surgery.
Graduated in Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics from the Second University of Naples in 2012 and obtained a PhD in Biochemical and Biotechnological Sciences in 2016, with a thesis focused on the characterization of salivary microRNAs in patients with Oral Lichen Planus.
Clinical and scientific activity focused on Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology, with particular interest in non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers through salivary analysis, oral potentially malignant disorders, oral cancer, and non-invasive diagnostic imaging techniques, including optical coherence tomography and high-definition ultrasound.
Author of 83 scientific publications in international PubMed- and Scopus-indexed journals, with an h-index of 38, and invited speakers at several national and international conferences.
Principal Investigator of applied research projects, including studies on salivary RNA for the early detection of oral cancer and computerized analysis of ultrasonographic images of the oral mucosa.
Obtained the Italian National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor in 2018.
Member of national and international scientific societies, including the Italian Society of Oral Pathology and Medicine, the College of University Professors of Dental Disciplines, the American Academy of Oral Medicine, the European Association of Oral Medicine, and the MASCC/ISOO Oral Care Study Group.

Dr. Leandro Dorigan de Macedo
DDS, MSc, PhD, MBA

Head of the Dentistry and Stomatology Service,
Faculty Member of Graduate Program in Clinical Oncology, Stem Cells, and Cell Therapy

Hospital das Clínicas of Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP)
BRAZIL

Bio:

Dr. Leandro Dorigan de Macedo is a Brazilian specialist in Hospital Dentistry, Oral Medicine, and Oral Oncology. He serves as Head of the Dentistry and Stomatology Service at the Hospital das Clínicas of Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP). He also coordinates the Dentistry Services of the Ribeirão Preto Blood Center Foundation (Hemocentro de Ribeirão Preto-USP) and the Foundation for Teaching and Research Support of HCFMRP-USP. In addition, he is a faculty member of the Graduate Program in Clinical Oncology, Stem Cells, and Cell Therapy at Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo. From 2015 to 2016, he served as Coordinator of the Multidisciplinary Residency Program in Oncology at HCFMRP-USP.
Dr. Macedo earned his DDS degree from the School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FORP-USP), where he also completed his master’s and PhD degrees in Dentistry. He is a Specialist in Hospital Dentistry and holds an MBA in Executive Hospital Management from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV).
His clinical practice is focused on the oral care of medically complex patients, particularly those undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cellular therapies, cancer treatment, and management of systemic diseases. His research activities are dedicated to understanding the biological mechanisms underlying oral complications associated with transplantation and cancer therapies, with particular emphasis on inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, salivary and blood biomarkers, proteomics, and translational approaches in oral medicine. His work has also explored oral toxicities related to head and neck radiotherapy, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and CAR-T cell therapy.
Dr. Macedo has authored and co-authored scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals and has been an invited speaker at major national and international scientific meetings. He has delivered lectures and educational activities at conferences organized by the Brazilian Society of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine (SOBEP), the Brazilian Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (SBTMO), the Brazilian Association of Hematology, Hemotherapy and Cellular Therapy (ABHH), the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT), and the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology, among others.
Beyond his academic and clinical activities, Dr. Macedo has played an active role in the development of Hospital Dentistry and Oral Health policies in Brazil through collaborations with professional societies, technical advisory groups, and initiatives related to the Brazilian Ministry of Health. He has contributed to the advancement of multidisciplinary oral healthcare models for patients with complex medical conditions, particularly in oncology, hematology, transplantation, and rare bleeding disorders.
He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Dentistry Committee of the Brazilian Association of Hematology, Hemotherapy and Cellular Therapy (ABHH), having chaired the committee from 2022 to 2025. He is also Chair of the Multidisciplinary Committee of the Brazilian Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (SBTMO) and a member of the Oral Health Committee of the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). He is an active member of several national and international scientific organizations, including SBTMO, ABHH, SOBEP, and WFH.

Dr. Giulia Ottaviani
DDS, MSc, PhD

Assistant Professor, Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences

University of Trieste
ITALY

Bio:

Dr. Giulia Ottaviani, DDS, MSc, Ph.D. She is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Medical, Surgical, and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy. She earned the National Scientific Habilitation as Associate Professor in Odontostomatologic Diseases (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, Italy) from 2019 to 2030. Her research activity in the oral medicine field is documented by 76 publications in international journals, with a cumulative number of citations and an h-index of 1,104 and 17 (Scopus 2023), respectively. Her teaching disciplines include oral medicine and community dentistry at the Schools of Dentistry and Oral Hygiene of the University of Trieste, Italy.