UCSF Radiation Oncologist Honored for Prostate Cancer Care and Research

Mack Roach, III, MD, FASTRO, has been chosen by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) to receive its 2024 Gold Medal Award. Roach is being recognized with ASTRO’s highest honor for his outstanding contributions to the field of radiation oncology.

Roach is a radiation oncologist, UCSF professor of a Radiation Oncology, and Urology, and an internationally renowned expert on treating and managing prostate cancer. Roach’s major research interest involves new techniques for treating prostate cancer, such as three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). His achievements in devising predictive equations and leading significant phase III trials in prostate cancer have positioned him as a key figure in the field with a profound impact on patient treatment protocols. Roach is also considered a foremost authority on disparities in outcomes from cancer treatment in underserved populations.

“Dr. Roach embodies the very essence of the ASTRO Gold Medal through his outstanding contributions to advancing radiation oncology through research, clinical care, teaching, advocacy and service,” wrote Iris C. Gibbs, MD, FASTRO, ASTRO’s Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council Chair and member of ASTRO’s Board of Directors. “His distinguished career, marked by groundbreaking advancements in the treatment of prostate and other genitourinary cancers, as well as his unwavering commitment to research, service, integrity and mentorship, makes him an exemplary recipient of the Gold Medal, ASTRO’s highest honor.”

Roach has made significant, practice-changing contributions to prostate cancer treatment, pioneering the “Roach Formula,” which is the initial equation to estimate the risk of lymph node and seminal vesicle involvement in prostate cancer. He spearheaded the inaugural large-scale phase III trial that utilized prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels as a measure for outcomes such as progression-free survival and proactively incorporated PSA nadir as a secondary endpoint. Roach has also been instrumental in developing the first model to predict disease-specific and overall survival based on data from prostate cancer patients treated in phase III trials.

He has gained recognition as an authority on treatment planning for prostate cancer and served as senior author for the guidelines for treatment planning by the American College of Radiology. He has begun to pioneer intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), in combination with online portal imaging, and improved dose calculation algorithms that should allow UCSF Radiation Oncology to provide leadership in the field of radiotherapy for many years to come. 

“This award is an incredible honor and I thank ASTRO for recognizing the work I have been involved with in treatment, research and heath equity,” said Roach. “I also want to thank my colleagues and my inspiring patients who provide the strongest motivation for advancing our field.”

Roach’s commitment to community service has been demonstrated by over two decades of volunteer work in cancer control efforts and his contributions to reducing health care disparities. His leadership and service have been recognized with numerous awards and honors. In 2012, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve a six-year term as the only radiation oncologist on the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), where he was particularly active in the sub-committee on global health. Roach was also awarded an honorary doctorate and a “Candle in the Dark” award from Morehouse College, his alma mater.

Roach has been a member of the UCSF faculty since 1990, rising through the academic ranks to become chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology from 2006 to 2015. He earned his medical degree at Stanford University School of Medicine and did his internship and residency at Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital in Los Angeles. He completed a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at UCSF as well as a residency in radiation oncology at Stanford. He also served as chief resident in medicine at Highland Hospital in Oakland.

He is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, National Cancer Institute’s IMRT Working Group, American Joint Commission for Cancer Staging, the American Cancer Society (ACS) Task Force for Cancer Screening Guidelines (prostate cancer) and the NCI Concept Evaluation Panel (prostate cancer phase III trials).

Roach and two other Gold Medal recipients will be celebrated Oct.1 during the awards ceremony at ASTRO’s 66th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

ASTRO’s Gold Medal is bestowed on revered members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of radiation oncology. This includes research, clinical care, teaching and service. Recipients are drawn from any of the scientific disciplines represented by the members of the Society.

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