Dr Richard Shaffer
BSc, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR Clinical Oncologist
Languages spoken
English
Expert in
Dupuytren's disease, Skin cancer
Overview
Dr Richard Shaffer is a recognised Consultant Clinical Oncologist and a prominent UK expert in the use of radiotherapy for treating benign disease (including Dupuytren’s disease, Ledderhose, plantar fasciitis and keloid scarring) and skin and urological cancers.
Since starting his practice in 2011, Dr Shaffer has treated approximately 1,500 benign patients, and provided training and mentoring to fellow consultants starting benign radiotherapy practices. He co-wrote the 2015 Royal College of Radiologists guidelines for benign conditions and is the founder and President of the International Society for Radiotherapy for Benign Conditions (www.iorbc.com).
He is UK Clinical Lead for Radiotherapy for skin and benign conditions at GenesisCare and chairs our weekly UK skin and benign Multidisciplinary team meeting. He is also Medical Director of XStrahl Limited – a medical device company that makes superficial radiotherapy machine for the treatment of benign conditions and skin cancer.
He has previously been chair of the IMRT-IGRT Radiotherapy Group, the Network Brain Tumour Working Group, Clinical Lead for Radiotherapy at St Luke’s Cancer Centre, and a trustee of the Fountain Centre (a local patient support charity).
In his early career, Dr Shaffer trained as a specialist registrar at various London teaching hospitals and completed a Clinical Fellowship in Radiation Oncology at the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada.
Career positions
- Lead for Radiotherapy for benign conditions at GenesisCare
- Medical Director of XStrahl Limited
- Specialist registrar at various London teaching hospitals
Education
- Clinical Fellowship in Radiation Oncology at the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada
Expertise and interests
- Dupuytren’s disease
- Ledderhose disease
- Plantar fasciitis
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Keloid scarring
- Benign disease
- Skin Cancer
- Radiotherapy - Non melanoma skin cancer
- Radiotherapy - Palliative
- Radiotherapy - Sarcoma/Soft Tissue
- Radiotherapy - Skin benign
- Radiotherapy - Skin cancerisation (VMAT)
- Radiotherapy for arthritis
Professional associations
- Member of the Royal College of Physicians
- Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists
Accomplishments
Publications & affiliations
Dr Shaffer has contributed extensively to numerous respected journals, including being an expert contributor for the ‘Keloid’ topic in British Medical Journal Best Practice. He is also a reviewer of manuscripts for journals on radiotherapy for benign conditions.
- A review of the use of radiotherapy in the UK for the treatment of benign clinical conditions and benign tumours. Royal College of Radiologists 2015.
- McKeown, S, Hatfield, P, Prestwich, R, Shaffer, R and Taylor, R. (2014). Radiotherapy for benign disease; assessing the risk of radiation-induced cancer following exposure to intermediate dose radiation. Br J Radiol. 2015;88(1056):20150405. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20150405. Epub 2015 Oct 14. PMID: 26462717; PMCID: PMC4984935.
- Shaffer R, Nichol AM, Vollans E, Fong M, Nakano S, Moiseenko V, Schmuland M, Ma R, McKenzie M, Otto K. (2010). A comparison of volumetric modulated arc therapy and conventional intensity-modulated radiotherapy for frontal and temporal high-grade gliomas. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2010 Mar 15;76(4):1177-84. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2009.03.013. Epub 2009 Jun 27. PMID: 19560880.
- Shaffer R, Morris WJ, Moiseenko V, Welsh M, Crumley C, Nakano S, Schmuland M, Pickles T, Otto K. (2009). Volumetric modulated Arc therapy and conventional intensity-modulated radiotherapy for simultaneous maximal intraprostatic boost: a planning comparison study. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2009 Jun;21(5):401-7. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2009.01.014. Epub 2009 Mar 5. PMID: 19268554.