Dr. John J Kresl | Board-Certified Radiation Oncologist

JOHN J. KRESL
MD, PhD, DABR, FACRO, FACR

RADIATION ONCOLOGIST

Dr. John Kresl – the Medical Director of the Phoenix CyberKnife is an internationally recognized expert in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Dr. Kresl has experience with and provides cutting-edge treatments for his patients with the CyberKnife™ System, TrueBeam™ STx with Novalis® Radiosurgery, Tomotherapy HD and Gamma Knife™. His expertise spans a wide array of cancer treatments, including:

  • Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
  • Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT)
  • Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
  • Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT)
  • Surface, Interstitial and Intracavitary Brachytherapy
  • Radioimmunotherapy
  • Standard External Beam Radiation Therapy

Over the course of his career, Dr. Kresl has developed expertise with SRS, SBRT and SABR in the areas of brain/central nervous system, prostate, lung, breast, gastrointestinal, and head and neck malignancies.

Dr. Kresl is the current Treasurer and Executive Board Member of The Radiosurgery™ Society and member of the Healthcare Policy and Code Utilization and Applications Committee for the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO). A distinguished fellow of the American College of Radiation Oncology, American College of Radiology and American College of Cancer Specialists and board certified by the American Board of Radiology in Radiation Oncology, he was included in the Best Doctors in America 2011-2015 and named among "America's Top Oncologists 2010-2015" by the Consumer's Research Council of America.

Well-known in the field of radiosurgery, Dr. Kresl actively participates in national, regional and institutional clinical oncology treatment protocols that offer the newest and most advanced forms of treatment for tumors of all disease sites. He currently serves as the principal investigator and co-investigator on clinical protocol trials, including an international trial comparing CyberKnife radiosurgery to traditional open surgery for operable lung cancer published in Lancet 2015 demonstrating a benefit to CyberKnife radiosurgery over surgical resection. His active oncology research has led to two registered U.S. patents for novel methods of diagnosing and treating cancer and further developments by Immtech Inc. (a biotech company he co-founded).

Dr. Kresl has published more than 200 abstracts, manuscripts, book chapters and textbooks related to the field of radiation oncology. He also was or remains the editor/editorial reviewer for the textbook “Robotic Radiosurgery,” and publications such as Skull Base Surgery: An Interdisciplinary Approach; International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics; and Journal of American College of Radiology. He is frequently an invited lecturer at seminars throughout the world.

Dr. Kresl joined ROCA in 1998 and served as Co-medical Director of the CyberKnife™ Program and Assistant Director for the Center for Thoracic Disease at St. Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., until 2009. From 2009-2019 Dr. Kresl was the Medical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Banner University Medical Center, and has been the acting Chief Medical Officer for Alliance Oncology since 2010, and Select Healthcare since 2011.

Education

  • MD from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, IL
  • PhD from Northwestern University Graduate School, Evanston, IL, for which he completed advanced medical educational and research training in the field of oncology as one of five National Institute of Health (NIH) supported combined MD/PhD Fellow in Graduate Medical Science training in Molecular and Immunological Tumor Cell Biology
  • Rotating internship in medicine and surgery at the Marshfield Clinic/St. Joseph's Hospital, Marshfield, WI
  • Comprehensive Radiation Oncology training at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
  • Advanced Clinical Radiation Oncology training in the field of Brachytherapy at the Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  • GammaKnife™ Stereotactic Radiosurgery and CyberKnife™ Stereotactic Radiosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA

View Dr. Kresl's Publications

JOHN J. KRESL
MD, PhD, DABR, FACRO, FACR

RADIATION ONCOLOGIST

Dr. John Kresl – the Medical Director of the Phoenix CyberKnife and Radiation Oncology Center and the Department of Radiation Oncology at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center – is an internationally recognized expert in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Dr. Kresl has experience with and provides cutting-edge treatments for his patients with the CyberKnife™ System, TrueBeam™ STx with Novalis® Radiosurgery, Tomotherapy HD and Gamma Knife™. His expertise spans a wide array of cancer treatments, including:

  • Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
  • Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT)
  • Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
  • Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT)
  • Surface, Interstitial and Intracavitary Brachytherapy
  • Radioimmunotherapy
  • Standard External Beam Radiation Therapy

Over the course of his career, Dr. Kresl has developed expertise with SRS, SBRT and SABR in the areas of brain/central nervous system, prostate, lung, breast, gastrointestinal, and head and neck malignancies.

Dr. Kresl is the current Treasurer and Executive Board Member of The Radiosurgery™ Society and member of the Healthcare Policy and Code Utilization and Applications Committee for the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO). A distinguished fellow of the American College of Radiation Oncology, American College of Radiology and American College of Cancer Specialists and board certified by the American Board of Radiology in Radiation Oncology, he was included in the Best Doctors in America 2011-2015 and named among "America's Top Oncologists 2010-2015" by the Consumer's Research Council of America.

Well-known in the field of radiosurgery, Dr. Kresl actively participates in national, regional and institutional clinical oncology treatment protocols that offer the newest and most advanced forms of treatment for tumors of all disease sites. He currently serves as the principal investigator and co-investigator on clinical protocol trials, including an international trial comparing CyberKnife radiosurgery to traditional open surgery for operable lung cancer published in Lancet 2015 demonstrating a benefit to CyberKnife radiosurgery over surgical resection. His active oncology research has led to two registered U.S. patents for novel methods of diagnosing and treating cancer and further developments by Immtech Inc. (a biotech company he co-founded).

Dr. Kresl has published more than 200 abstracts, manuscripts, book chapters and textbooks related to the field of radiation oncology. He also was or remains the editor/editorial reviewer for the textbook “Robotic Radiosurgery,” and publications such as Skull Base Surgery: An Interdisciplinary Approach; International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics; and Journal of American College of Radiology. He is frequently an invited lecturer at seminars throughout the world.

Dr. Kresl joined ROCA in 1998 and served as Co-medical Director of the CyberKnife™ Program and Assistant Director for the Center for Thoracic Disease at St. Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., until 2009. Since 2009 he has been the Medical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Banner University Medical Center, and has been the acting Chief Medical Officer for Alliance Oncology since 2010, and Select Healthcare since 2011.

Education

  • MD from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, IL
  • PhD from Northwestern University Graduate School, Evanston, IL, for which he completed advanced medical educational and research training in the field of oncology as one of five National Institute of Health (NIH) supported combined MD/PhD Fellow in Graduate Medical Science training in Molecular and Immunological Tumor Cell Biology
  • Rotating internship in medicine and surgery at the Marshfield Clinic/St. Joseph's Hospital, Marshfield, WI
  • Comprehensive Radiation Oncology training at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
  • Advanced Clinical Radiation Oncology training in the field of Brachytherapy at the Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  • GammaKnife™ Stereotactic Radiosurgery and CyberKnife™ Stereotactic Radiosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA

View Dr. Kresl's Publications

COVID-19 UPDATE

Our top priority is the health and safety of our patients. Treatments will continue as our staff is taking extra precautionary measures to ensure the safety of all patients. We are working closely with local and national health authorities to stay informed on all important developments.

Contact our office prior to your appointment.

Phoenix Cyberknife Radiation Oncology is dedicated to the health and safety of our employees, patients, and their families. With the recent spread of COVID-19 and the height of cold and flu season, it is important to be mindful of not only yourself but others around you as well. These viruses are spread from person to person through coughing, sneezing, contact with contaminated surfaces and close personal contact. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms: runny nose, dry cough, low-grade fevers or shortness of breath; please contact our office prior to your appointment for further instruction

Click here for more information for the Arizona Department of Health Services.