Brief Introduction
Keng-Li Lan is a Professor at The Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. He also serves as the Chairman of the department of Heavy Ion Therapy Center and Radiation Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital. He holds an M.D. from National Yang-Ming University and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan.
Specialty
- Radiation Oncology and Heavy Ion Therapy
- Pharmacology and Targeted Cancer Therapeutics
- Immuno-oncology and Recombinant Polypeptide Design
- Combination Therapies for Malignant Diseases
Education
- 1999: Ph.D. in Pharmacology, University of Michigan
- 1992: M.D., National Yang-Ming University
Experience
- 2022 - Present: Professor, The Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- July/2026 – Present: Chairman, Department of Heavy Ion Therapy and Radiation Oncology, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2022 – 2025: Chief, The Division of Heavy Ion Therapy, Department of Heavy Ion Therapy and Radiation Oncology, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2019 - 2022: Chief, The Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2009 - Present: Attending Physician, The Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2013 - 2022: Associate Professor, The Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2009 - 2013: Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
Selected Publications
- Lai, I.C., Kang, Y.M., Wu, Y.H., Lin, Y.F., Liu, Y.M., & Lan, K.L. (2026). "Carbon ion therapy for pancreatic cancer with risk-adapted dose escalation: initial clinical experience." Radiotherapy and Oncology.
- Lan, T.L., et al., Feasibility and safety of Taipei Veterans General Hospital Heavy Ion Therapy Center: The first carbon-ion irradiation facility in Taiwan. J Chin Med Assoc, 2025.
- Yueh, P.F., et al., A multifunctional PEGylated liposomal-encapsulated sunitinib enhancing autophagy, immunomodulation, and safety in renal cell carcinoma. J Nanobiotechnology, 2024. 22(1): p. 459.
- Chiou, C.C., et al., The potential of integrating stereotactic ablative radiotherapy techniques with hyperfractionation for lung cancer. Thorac Cancer, 2024. 15(22): p. 1679-1687.
- Fang, C.H., et al., Characterization of tumoricidal activities mediated by a novel immune cell regimen composing interferon-producing killer dendritic cells and tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. BMC Cancer, 2024. 24(1): p. 395.
- Wu, Y.H., et al., Feasibility estimation of injected hydrodissection before definitive radiotherapy of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. J Chin Med Assoc, 2024. 87(5): p. 511-515.
- Chang, T.Y., et al., Nepsilon-(1-Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine/RAGE Signaling Drives Metastasis and Cancer Stemness through ERK/NFkappaB axis in Osteosarcoma. Int J Biol Sci, 2024. 20(3): p. 880-896.
- Wu, Y.H., et al., Old age and EGFR mutation status in inoperable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving stereotactic ablative radiotherapy: A single institute experience of 71 patients in Taiwan. Thorac Cancer, 2023. 14(7): p. 654-661.
- Lee, W.J., et al., Aryl hydrocarbon receptor deficiency augments dysregulated microangiogenesis and diabetic retinopathy. Biomed Pharmacother, 2022. 155: p. 113725.
- Hsu, F.T., et al., Synergistic effect of Abraxane that combines human IL15 fused with an albumin-binding domain on murine models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. J Cell Mol Med, 2022. 26(7): p. 1955-1968.
New multidisciplinary approaches are required for aggressive local progression and early systemic micrometastases of pancreatic cancer. In this presentation, the real world clinical efficacy of Carbon-Ion Radiotherapy (CIRT) will be evaluated and future treatment paradigms will be discussed based on newly developed systemic regimens, such as combinations of immunotherapy and targeted therapy. Data from our institute demonstrate the powerful ablative effect of CIRT in locally advanced and oligometastatic pancreatic cancer. With a risk-adapted dose-escalation protocol, CIRT achieved a 1-year local tumor control rate of 94.7% with an excellent safety profile and few severe toxicities. Importantly, this strong local control is independent of the intensity of concurrent chemotherapy, supporting safe de-escalation of concurrent regimens for frail populations. However, while carbon ions offer local target coverage, the key to preventing distant metastasis and prolonging overall survival is the total cumulative systemic exposure. On the other hand, the optimization of the implementation schedule is critical: the avoidance of long neoadjuvant phases over nine months and monitoring of precise CA19-9 kinetics leads to a significant improvement in survival. 18F-FDG PET metabolic response is a better early prognostic biomarker than traditional morphological criteria for guiding such interventions.
CIRT is effective in achieving locoregional control, but future advances will require a response to the deeply immunosuppressive and desmoplastic microenvironment of the disease. We are developing new immunocytokines directed against PD-L1. These engineered variants are designed with advanced computational protein engineering to direct potent immune activation specifically to the tumor bed. Furthermore, our observation in lung cancer suggests that CIRT with immunotherapy or target therapy has a promising improvement in terms of overall disease control. With the recent exciting clinical development of KRAS inhibitors, the future of pancreatic cancer therapy lies in the strategic combination of precision heavy-ion radiotherapy with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, multi-functional targeted agents, and subsequent surgery.