Kiran Kumar, M.D.

Chief of Lymphoma and Pediatrics Radiation Oncology Services; Program Director, Medical Residency

Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

Radiation Oncology
Radiation Therapy for Lymphoma
Radiation Therapy for Leukemia

New Patient Appointment Accepting Virtual Visits or 214-645-8300

New Patient Appointment or 214-645-8300

See Dr. Kumar's Locations

Biography

Kiran Kumar, M.D., M.B.A., is an Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Chief of Lymphoma and Pediatrics Radiation Oncology Services. He specializes in the treatment of pediatric, lymphoma, and central nervous system cancers through the use of radiation therapies.

Dr. Kumar grew up in Arizona, where he earned dual undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and health administration at the University of Arizona. He then moved to Chicago, where he completed medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and a transitional year internship at Presence Resurrection Medical Center.

He followed that by completing his radiation oncology residency at Stanford University Medical Center, as well as graduate school at the University of California Berkeley-Haas School of Business, where he earned a degree in business administration.

Dr. Kumar went into medical school with a vague interest in oncology, based on prior experiences taking care of cancer patients as a hospice volunteer and doing research in a cancer pain laboratory, but he did not know much about radiation oncology until a shadowing experience as a first-year medical student.

“After just one week of shadowing, I knew radiation oncology was the perfect fit for me,” he says. “It combines my interest in technology and research with my passion for directly providing care for those dealing with one of the scariest diagnoses that exist – cancer.”

In addition to his clinical and research-related work, Dr. Kumar is passionate about medical and patient education, and consistently brainstorms innovative ways of improving patient education, such as audio and visual resources and support groups. He currently serves as Director of the Medical Residency Program.

Meet Dr. Kumar

Pediatric, lymphoma, and CNS cancer specialist in Dallas

Dr. Kumar focuses on treating patients with pediatric, lymphoma, and central nervous system cancers with radiation therapies. In general, he strives to provide the highest quality care using the most up-to-date techniques and therapies for all of his patients.

A strong believer in the importance of shared decision making, Dr. Kumar dedicates a significant amount of his time to patient education to ensure that his patients and their families have all the information they need to make an educated and informed decision regarding treatment. He wants his patients to know that while there are still risks with radiation treatment, it is often much less than they expect.

“Many people are afraid when they hear the word ‘radiation’, especially for children or young adults,” he says. “What most don’t realize is that radiation therapy has changed significantly over the last couple decades and with the latest technology and evidence from ongoing research, we are able to treat much more precisely and accurately with smaller volumes and less total dose, resulting in significantly fewer side effects.”

In addition to his clinical duties, Dr. Kumar is involved in a number of research projects, including SBRT for the treatment of spinal metastases, radiation therapy using PROMISE (pediatric radiation oncology with movie-induced sedation effect) technology to decrease the number of pediatric treatments requiring anesthesia, and the combination of immunotherapy with radiation therapy for treatment of primary or refractory/relapsed primary CNS lymphoma.

To Dr. Kumar, being a radiation oncologist is a privilege. Rather than just providing radiation treatments to patients, being there for all aspects of a patient’s life, both during and after treatment, is a highly rewarding experience.

“The most gratifying thing for me is seeing a child I took care of several years ago who has now gone off to college or gotten married and started a family of his or her own,” he says.

Education & Training

Other Post Graduate Training - University of California - Berkeley (2016-2018)
Graduate School - University of California - Berkeley (2016-2018)
Residency - Stanford University Medical Center (2014-2018), Radiation Oncology
Internship - Presence Resurrection Medical Center (2013-2014), Transitional Year
Medical School - University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (2008-2013)

Professional Associations & Affiliations

American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) (2013)
American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) (2015)
Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) (2014)
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (2019)
Children’s Oncology Group (COG) (2019)
International Society for Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) (2019)
Pediatric Radiation Oncology Society (PROS) (2019)
International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group (ILROG) (2018)
The Radiosurgical Society (RRS) (2017)

Honors & Awards

RSS Annual Scientific Meeting Award for Best Oral Presentation and Best Medical Resident Abstract 2017
Stanford Honors Certificate in Medical Education 2017
University of Chicago Department of Radiation Oncology Award 2013
ASTRO Annual Meeting Scientific Abstract Award 2012
Calvin Fentress Research Fellowship Award 2012

Books & Publications

Publications
- Serious Illness Communication Training Among Radiation Oncology Residents.
  Christensen M, Kumar KA, Wang WS, Dharmarajan KV, Chang Z, McStay CK, Barina A, Siropaides C, Practical radiation oncology 2023 13 3 e220-e229
- Pre-treatment non-target lung FDG-PET uptake predicts symptomatic radiation pneumonitis following Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR).
  Chaudhuri AA, Binkley MS, Rigdon J, Carter JN, Aggarwal S, Dudley SA, Qian Y, Kumar KA, Hara WY, Gensheimer M, Nair VS, Maxim PG, Shultz DB, Bush K, Trakul N, Le QT, Diehn M, Loo BW, Guo HH Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology 2016 06 119 3 454-60
- Tracheal Diverticulum Following Paratracheal Hypofractionated Radiotherapy in the Setting of Prior and Subsequent Bevacizumab.
  Chaudhuri AA, Chen JJ, Carter JN, Binkley MS, Kumar KA, Dudley SA, Sung AW, Loo BW Cureus 2016 Apr 8 4 e578
- RIG-I-like receptor LGP2 protects tumor cells from ionizing radiation.
  Widau RC, Parekh AD, Ranck MC, Golden DW, Kumar KA, Sood RF, Pitroda SP, Liao Z, Huang X, Darga TE, Xu D, Huang L, Andrade J, Roizman B, Weichselbaum RR, Khodarev NN Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2014 Jan 111 4 E484-91
- Cost-effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy for high-risk low-grade glioma.
  Qian Y, Maruyama S, Kim H, Pollom EL, Kumar KA, Chin AL, Harris JP, Chang DT, Pitt A, Bendavid E, Owens DK, Durkee BY, Soltys SG Neuro-oncology 2017 Nov 19 12 1651-1660
- ACR-ARS Practice Parameter for the Performance of Total Body Irradiation.
  Reilly M, Dandapani SV, Kumar KA, Constine L, Fogh SE, Roberts KB, Small W, Schechter NR, American journal of clinical oncology 2023 May 46 5 185-192
- Image-guided radiation therapy for prostate cancer: A computed tomography-based assessment of fiducial marker migration between placement and 7 days.
  Kumar KA, Wu T, Tonlaar N, Stepaniak C, Yenice KM, Liauw SL Practical radiation oncology 2015 Jul-Aug 5 4 241-7
- Radiation Therapy for Colorectal Liver Metastases. Current Colorectal Cancer Reports
  Qian Y*, Kumar KA*, Dudley SA, Koong AC, Chang DT Current Colorectal Cancer Reports 2017 13 3 240-9
- A Pilot Study Evaluating the Use of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Perfusion MRI to Predict Local Recurrence After Radiosurgery on Spinal Metastases.
  Kumar KA, Peck KK, Karimi S, Lis E, Holodny AI, Bilsky MH, Yamada Y Technology in cancer research & treatment 2017 Jan 1533034617705715
- Prognostic Value of Pretreatment FDG-PET Parameters in High-dose Image-guided Radiotherapy for Oligometastatic Non-Small-cell Lung Cancer.
  Chin AL, Kumar KA, Guo HH, Maxim PG, Wakelee H, Neal JW, Diehn M, Loo BW, Gensheimer MF Clinical lung cancer 2018 09 19 5 e581-e588
- Long-Term Update of Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Benign Spinal Tumors.
  Chin AL, Fujimoto D, Kumar KA, Tupper L, Mansour S, Chang SD, Adler JR, Gibbs IC, Hancock SL, Dodd R, Li G, Gephart MH, Ratliff JK, Tse V, Usoz M, Sachdev S, Soltys SG Neurosurgery 2018 Nov
- Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Spinal Metastases.
  Katsoulakis E, Kumar K, Laufer I, Yamada Y Seminars in radiation oncology 2017 07 27 3 209-217

Clinical Focus

Radiation Therapy for Lymphoma
Radiation Therapy for Leukemia
Radiation Therapy for Brain Tumors
Radiation Therapy for Spinal Cord Cancer
Pediatric Brain Tumors
Lymphoma Treatment
Myeloma Treatment
Bone Marrow Transplant
Brain Metastases
Brain & Spinal Cord Cancer
Gliomas
Meningiomas
Skull Base Tumors
Pituitary Tumors
Acoustic Neuromas
Sarcoma
Cancerous (Malignant) Bone Tumors
Skin Cancer
Ocular Lymphoma
Ocular oncology