Dr. David Tan Boon Harn

SENIOR CONSULTANT RADIATION ONCOLOGIST
MEDICAL DIRECTOR (AARO)

FRCR (CLINICAL ONCOLOGY, UK)
FAMS (RADIATION ONCOLOGY)
MBBS (Singapore)

Clinical Interests:
Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS/SBRT)
Gynaecological, Gastrointestinal & Lung
Cancers

Dr David Tan Boon Harn is Medical Director and Senior Consultant Radiation Oncologist at Asian Alliance Radiation & Oncology (AARO), a private Singapore Radiation and Oncology group focusing on the use of advanced technologies to treat cancer.

He has more than 15 years of clinical experience and is well versed in all aspects of general radiation oncology. In particular, he specializes in the treatment of Gynaecological Cancers (Cervix, Uterus & Ovarian), Lung cancers, Gastrointestinal cancers (Oesophagus, Stomach & Colorectal), and Hepatobiliary cancers (Liver, Pancreas & Gallbladder).

His clinical expertise is in the use of stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SRS/SBRT), a highly targeted and ablative radiation treatment to treat primary and metastatic tumours in only 1-5 sessions. He is also fellowship- trained in Brachytherapy for gynaecological cancers.

Dr Tan is dual-trained in Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy, and well-versed with all modern radiation technologies including 3D conformal external beam radiotherapy (3D-CRT), Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), Volumetric Arc Therapy (VMAT), Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Radiotherapy, Gynaecology (cervix and endometrium) image-guided brachytherapy.

A kind, patient and compassionate oncologist, Dr Tan takes time to understand the patient’s condition and personal needs. Armed with his technical expertise, and the latest scientific evidence, Dr Tan is able to offer customized treatment plans based on the individual patients’ condition to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Dr. Tan graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2005 and commenced training in Radiation Oncology at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) in 2007. In 2011, Dr. Tan received the Health and Manpower Development (HMDP) Award for Advanced Training in Clinical Oncology in the UK. There, at the Mount Vernon Cancer Cancer in Middlesex, he obtained advanced training in general oncology and further subspecialized in the above tumour sites. He also trained under renowned experts in stereotactic radiosurgery and brachytherapy.

He obtained his Fellowship in Clinical Oncology from the Royal College of Radiologists in the UK (FRCR) in 2013 and was admitted as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (FAMS) in Radiation Oncology in 2014.

Prior to joining AARO, Dr. Tan was a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). During his 10 years of service in the public sector, he was responsible for setting up the Liver and Pancreas SBRT programs in NCCS. As a pioneer in this field, Dr Tan drove implementation and innovation in Stereotactic Radiotherapy in Singapore, formulating treatment protocols, training the stereotactic team, and chairing multi-disciplinary discussions amongst the various specialist groups in the centre. Through his leadership, a large number of patients were able to receive this advanced treatment with increasingly complex cases being treated successfully and effectively over the years.

Regionally, Dr. Tan is a key opinion leader in SBRT. From 2014 – 2020. He was the Singapore National Project Coordinator for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regional Project 6085, which aims to Enhance Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Frequent Cancers in the Asia-Pacific Region. After establishing Singapore as one of the regional training hubs in Asia-Pacific, Dr. Tan successfully conducted the first Regional Training Course of the project in NCCS in 2016, which was attended by participants from 17 member states. He is also currently Council Member of the Federation of Asian Organizations for Radiation Oncology (FARO), which is a non-profit scientific organization comprising national radiation oncology societies in Asia to improve the level of radiotherapy in the region. Dr Tan is regularly invited to share his expertise across the region and has given talks to centres in Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Pakistan.

Dr. Tan remain actively involved in clinical research. He is co-investigator in an international IAEA-led trial comparing SBRT with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in unresectable HCC, enrolling patients across the Asia-Pacific. He has published in major oncology journals on SBRT and brachytherapy, as well as gastrointestinal and gynaecological cancer subject matters. He was invited as guest editor for a focused issue entitled “Advances in Stereotactic Radiosurgery” in the Chinese Clinical Oncology journal in 2017, where with his co-editors he formulated content and collaborated with international experts to publish the latest updates in stereotactic radiotherapy treatments. He continues to contribute as a reviewer in surgical, oncology and radiotherapy journals.

On the local front, Dr. Tan served as Chair of the Radiation Oncology Sub-section of the Singapore Radiological Society (SRS) for 8 years from 2016 – 2022. As chair of the SRS radiation oncology subsection, Dr. Tan organized annual scientific dinner-symposiums for the local oncology community to update them on the latest advances in radiotherapy in common tumour sites such as liver, pancreas and prostate malignancies, and on latest technologies such as proton therapy. Dr. Tan also held position as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School where he hosted and supervised medical students for clinical attachments at NCCS, and was clinical lecturer at the Nanyang Polytechnic School of Radiation Therapy where he gave lectures to budding radiation therapists.

Dr. Tan is a member of the following international oncology societies: American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS).

Dr. David Tan’s Publications

What Is the Prognostic Value of the (Y)pN Status After Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer?

Rob Glynne-Jones FRCP, David Tan FRCR & Nicholas P. West PhD, FRCPath 

Valentini, V., Schmoll, HJ., van de Velde, C. (eds) Multidisciplinary Management of Rectal Cancer. Springer, Cham. 

First Online: 07 April 2018

The Promise of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy – Next phase of integration into oncological practice.

Chua KLM, Tan DBH, Chua MLK, Lo SS.

Chin Clin Oncol. 2017 Sep;6(Suppl 2):S8. doi: 10.21037/cco.2017.08.03. 

 

Assessing dose contribution to pelvic lymph nodes in intracavitary brachytherapy for cervical cancer.

Gail Wan Ying Chua, Yong Wee Foo, Guan Heng Tay, David Boon Harn Tan.

J Contemp Brachytherapy. 2017 Aug; 9(4): 345–353.

 

Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus: Progress in radiotherapy treatment Rob Glynne Jones, David Tan, Robert Hughes, Peter Hoskin

Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2016 Jan 27

Urological reconstruction after pelvic oncological surgery: A single institution experience Yu Guang Tan, Grace Tan, David Tan, Claramae S. Chia, Dun Yong Ang, Melissa Teo Asian Journal of Surgery (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asjsur.2016.02.002

 

Post-operative Chemoradiation for Rectal Cancer

David Tan B H, Rob Glynne-Jones.

Chapter for Modern Management of Cancer of the Rectum 2nd Edition, 2015 Editors: Drs. Walter Longo, Vikram Reddy, and Riccardo Audisio

Published by Springer-Verlag London

How can we determine the best neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy regimen for rectal cancer?

Rob Glynne-Jones, David Tan

Colorectal Cancer 02/2015; 4(1):37-52

How to Select for Preoperative Short-course Radiotherapy, While Considering Long- course Chemoradiotherapy or Immediate Surgery, and Who Benefits?


Rob Glynne-Jones, David Tan, Brendan J Moran and Vicky Goh

European Oncology & Haematology, 2014; 10(1):17–24

Pelvic MRI for Guiding Treatment Decisions in Rectal Cancer Rob Glynne-Jones, David Tan B H, Vicky Goh

Oncology (Williston Park). 2014; 28:667-77

 

But some Neoadjuvant Schedules are more Equal than Others David Tan B H, Glynne-Jones Rob

J Clin Oncol May 2013; 31(14): 1799-1800

Articles

Anal cancer risk increases due to greater exposure to virus linked to cervical cancer, multiple sex partners
Published on Today Newspaper December 12 2022

Cancer: No longer a death sentence
Published on the AARO Website

APBN: Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy- LightSABeR
Published in Asia Pacific Biotech News

Videos

Channel 8 “Body SOS S7” on Oesophageal Cancer

APBN: Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy – LightSABeR

Meet Our Other Specialists

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Dr. Jonathan Teh Yi Hui

Medical Director (CSR) & Senior Consultant Radiation Oncologist

Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS/SBRT), Head & Neck, Pediatric, Urologic, Gastrointestinal Cancers & Sarcoma

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Dr. Daniel Tan Yat Harn

Director & Senior Consultant Radiation Oncologist

Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS/SBRT), Brain and Spine, Breast and Prostate Cancers

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Dr Michelle Tseng Shu Fen

Women's & Children's Program Director & Consultant Radiation Oncologist

Women’s & Children’s Cancer, Breast and Gynae-oncology and Paediatric