Anthony Ingenito, M.D., a well-respected radiation oncologist and researcher at The Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, has been named the founding chairman of the newly elevated Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Ingenito was formerly the medical director of the Division of Radiation Oncology.

The Division of Radiation Oncology was elevated and renamed a department to reflect the increasing complexity and comprehensiveness of services performed there and the ever-growing number of clinical research trials that are under way to evaluate new treatments.

“During the 11 years since Dr. Ingenito joined our Cancer Center, he has acquired the most advanced technology available in the field of radiation oncology so that his department and our Cancer Center are at the forefront of cancer care,” says Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., chairman and executive administrative director of The Cancer Center.

During Dr. Ingenito’s tenure at The Cancer Center, the Department of Radiation Oncology added TomoTherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and has expanded brachytherapy services. The Department of Radiation Oncology is one of the largest in New Jersey. In 2007, approximately 29,000 treatment visits were recorded.

Future goals of the department include expanding the application of IMRT technology, developing and integrating a comprehensive image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) program, and diversifying the radiosurgery program to include benign/functional disorders.

“The Department of Radiation Oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center strives to deliver the best, most comprehensive cancer care available,” says Dr. Ingenito.

Dr. Ingenito joined The Cancer Center in 1996 after completing his residency in radiation oncology at New York Hospital/Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was chief resident. He earned his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School in Newark. He completed an internship at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, where he received the Abdol H. Islami, M.D., Award for Outstanding Transitional First-Year Graduate Trainee of the Year.

In 1998, after being on staff at Hackensack University Medical Center for two years, he was named co-director of the Institute for Radiosurgery. He has been instrumental in developing The Cancer Center’s stereotactic radiosurgery program to treat benign and malignant brain tumors. In 2005, he was promoted to medical director of his division.

Dr. Ingenito is highly skilled in radiation oncology, and he is one of a select group of physicians in his specialty with expertise in both adult and pediatric malignancies. He specializes in the treatment of cancers of the central nervous system, head and neck cancers, lung/thoracic tumors, gastrointestinal neoplasms, and lymphoma.

Dr. Ingenito and the Department of Radiation Oncology participate in nationwide clinical research trials of the Children’s Oncology Group and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, which are sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. He has presented his research at international conferences and has been published in many peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the American College of Radiology. He has been named to several “Best Doctors” lists for radiation oncology, including “America’s Top Physicians” (Consumers’ Research Council of America), “Strathmore’s Who’s Who,” “Best Doctors for Bergen County” (Better Living magazine), and “America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals.”

“Dr. Ingenito is a strong proponent of evidence-based medicine and interdisciplinary management to deliver the highest quality treatment in order to obtain the best possible outcomes for his patients,” says Dr. Pecora.