John A. (Drew) Ridge, MD, PhD, FACS
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Clinical Locations
Primary Location
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19111
Chief, Head and Neck Surgery
Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Surgical Oncology
Louis Della Penna Family Chair in Head and Neck Oncology
President, Medical Staff
TRDG Member, Head and Neck Cancer; Thyroid and Endocrine Cancer
Associate Director, Temple Head & Neck Institute
NCCN, Head & Neck Cancers Panel Member
NCCN, Thyroid Carcinoma Panel Member
Specialties
Treatment Focus
Head and neck cancers (tumors of the mouth and jaws, tonsil, tongue base, voicebox and sinuses), organ preservation, endocrine surgery (thyroid and parathyroid tumors); salivary gland tumors
Research Program
Key Awards
Surgery
Language(s) Other than English
Treatment Philosophy
Follow on Twitter: @FCCCSurgOnc
Educational Background
- Fellowship, Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Residency, General Surgery, University of Colorado, Denver, CO
- MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 1981
- PhD, Biochemistry, Stanford University, 1978
Certifications
- American Board of Surgery
Memberships
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
- Head and Neck Cancers Panel
- Thyroid Carcinoma Panel
- American Association of Endocrine Surgeons
- American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
- American College of Surgeons
- American Head and Neck Society
- American Thyroid Association
- American Radium Society
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Society of Surgical Oncology
Honors & Awards
- Best Doctors in America® , 2013-15, 2019-2020, Surgical Oncology
- Philadelphia Magazine Top Doctors, 2005-19
- America’s Top Doctors® 2015-17
- President, American Radium Society, 2015
- President, American Head and Neck Society, 2010
Charlie Osborne
Charlie Osborne
I quit smoking over 20 years ago because I noticed people getting annoyed with smokers — and was no longer allowed to smoke at work. I also knew it was a health hazard. By quitting the habit, I thought my chances of developing cancer had been diminished. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
In early 2005, at the age of 52, I experienced problems swallowing and had a blocked windpipe. I had trouble sleeping and began losing weight.
Kevin Logan
Kevin Logan
In 2010, Kevin Logan noticed a lump on his neck which turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma on the base of his tongue. Upon the recommendation to seek treatment at Fox Chase Cancer, that's where Kevin and his wife, Devra, went even though it was a three-hour drive from their home in Maryland. Kevin underwent a successful treatment of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and once he finished treatment, he returned to work full-time. "Many people who knew about my cancer often called to ask where I was treated, and I’m always telling them, 'Fox Chase is the place to go,' and I always will," he said.
Lynn Schoepske
Lynn Schoepske
I’ve been brushing my teeth twice a day religiously for 80 years—well, maybe 79. I never smoked or chewed tobacco. So, I was surprised when I noticed several of my teeth were loose. I went from my dentist to a periodontist to an oral surgeon, who told me, “Your gums look angry.”
Louis Della Penna
Louis Della Penna
Louis Della Penna made an appointment at Fox Chase Cancer Center in 1994 because he was concerned about a chronic sore throat. It was the best decision he made since he learned shortly after that he had kidney cancer. Louis underwent surgery to remove the cancer from his kidney and surrounding tissue. Today he is cancer free and supports programs at Fox Chase, including two endowments he and his wife funded. "My feelings for Fox Chase are very strong," he said. "If you want to support something wonderful, there is no better place to give, no matter what your contribution. I am cancer free today, and I continue to return to Fox Chase for follow-up visits. It’s an amazing story."
Donald Ebaugh
Donald Ebaugh
When he retired in 1990 at the age of 57, Donald Ebaugh was likely one of the most active retirees in Delaware. After retiring from the State's Medical Laboratory Division in Dover as a medical lab technician, he devoted much of his time to caring for horses, both as a trainer and rider. In 2015, at the age of 82, he still spends time with his horses, but two bouts with cancer have caused him to slow down.
Pages
Research Program
Research Interests
- Nonsurgical management of head and neck cancer
- Organ preservation
- New techniques in head and neck surgery
- Early and advanced thyroid tumors
- Clinical trial design
Most of my research within the last 20 years has been undertaken at a national level, and has involved the design and execution of clinical trials. I am a member of of Fox Chase Cancer Center patient care and scientific strengths to address head and neck cancer, I have formally joined the molecular therapeutics program at Fox Chase, where I provide an important clinical context for research, promote translational goals (with patients and physician colleagues), and link with clinicians in other fields.
Selected Publications
Eze N, Lee JW, Yang DH, Zhu F, Neumeister V, Sandoval-Schaefer T, Mehra R, Ridge JA, Forastiere A, Chung CH, Burtness B. PTEN loss is associated with resistance to cetuximab in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oral oncology, 91:69-78, 2019. PubMed
Fakhry C, Zhang Q, Gillison ML, Nguyen-Tan PF, Rosenthal DI, Weber RS, Lambert L, Trotti AM, 3rd, Barrett WL, Thorstad WL, Yom SS, Wong SJ, Ridge JA, Rao SSD, Spencer S, Fortin A, Raben D, Harris J, Le QT. Validation of NRG oncology/RTOG-0129 risk groups for HPV-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer: Implications for risk-based therapeutic intensity trials. Cancer, 2019. PubMed
Murphy CT, Galloway TJ, Handorf EA, Egleston BL, Wang LS, Mehra R, Flieder DB, Ridge JA. The survival impact of increasing time to treatment initiation for patient with head and neck cancer in the United States. J Clin Oncol, in press. PubMed
Lango MN, Galloway TJ, Mehra R, Ebersole B, Liu JC, Moran K, Ridge JA. Impact of baseline patient-reported dysphagia on acute gastrostomy placement in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma undergoing definitive radiation. Head Neck. 2015 Aug 31. doi: 10.1002/hed.24220. PubMed PMID: 26332292. PubMed
Beck TN, Kaczmar J, Handorf E, Nikonova A, Dubyk C, Peri S, Lango M, Ridge JA, Serebriiskii IG, Burtness B, Golemis EA, Mehra R. Phospho-T356RB1 predicts survival in HPV-negative squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Oncotarget. 2015 Aug 7;6(22):18863-74. PubMed PMID: 26265441. PubMed
Ridge JA. Why "head and neck cancer"? Surg Oncol Clin N Am. 2015 Jul;24(3):xv-xvi. doi: 10.1016/j.soc.2015.04.001. PubMed PMID: 25979405. PubMed
Ringash J, Bernstein LJ, Cella D, Logemann J, Movsas B, Murphy B, Trotti A, Wells N, Yueh B, Ridge J. Outcomes toolbox for head and neck cancer research. Head Neck. 2015 Mar;37(3):425-39. doi: 10.1002/hed.23561. Epub 2015 Jan 22. PubMed
Pfister DG, Spencer S, Brizel DM, Burtness B, Busse PM, Caudell JJ, Cmelak AJ, Colevas AD, Dunphy F, Eisele DW, Gilbert J, Gillison ML, Haddad RI, Haughey BH, Hicks WL Jr, Hitchcock YJ, Jimeno A, Kies MS, Lydiatt WM, Maghami E, Martins R, McCaffrey T, Mell LK, Mittal BB, Pinto HA, Ridge JA, Rodriguez CP, Samant S, Schuller DE, Shah JP, Weber RS, Wolf GT, Worden F, Yom SS, McMillian NR, Hughes M. Head and neck cancers, Version 2.2014. Clinical practice guidelines in oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2014 Oct;12(10):1454-87. PubMed PMID: 25313184. PubMed
Tejani MA, Galloway TJ, Lango M, Ridge JA, von Mehren M. Head and neck sarcomas: a comprehensive cancer center experience. Cancers (Basel). 2013 Jul 15;5(3):890-900. doi: 10.3390/cancers5030890. PubMed PMID: 24202325; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3795370. PubMed
Mehra R, Zhu F, Yang DH, Cai KQ, Weaver J, Singh MK, Nikonova AS, Golemis EA, Flieder DB, Cooper HS, Lango M, Ridge JA, Burtness B. Quantification of excision repair cross-complementing group 1 and survival in p16-negative squamous cell head and neck cancers. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Dec 1;19(23):6633-43. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-13-0152. Epub 2013 Oct 2. PubMed PMID: 24088734; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4045641. PubMed
Lango M, Flieder D, Arrangoiz R, Veloski C, Yu JQ, Li T, Burtness B, Mehra R, Galloway T, Ridge JA. Extranodal extension of metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma: correlation with biochemical endpoints, nodal persistence, and
systemic disease progression. Thyroid. 2013 Sep;23(9):1099-105. doi: 10.1089/thy.2013.0027. PubMed PMID: 23421588; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3770240. PubMed
Garg MK, Ridge JA, Yom SS, McDonald MW, Quon H, Smith RV, Yeung AR, Lawson J, Saba N, Salama JK, Beitler JJ. Reply, contralateral irradiation for T(limited)N2bM0 lateralized tonsil cancer. Head Neck. 2013 Mar;35(3):465-6. doi:
10.1002/hed.23212. Epub 2013 Feb 5. PubMed PMID: 23386559. PubMed
Additional Publications
Clinical Locations
Primary Location
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19111
Chief, Head and Neck Surgery
Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Surgical Oncology
Louis Della Penna Family Chair in Head and Neck Oncology
President, Medical Staff
TRDG Member, Head and Neck Cancer; Thyroid and Endocrine Cancer
Associate Director, Temple Head & Neck Institute
NCCN, Head & Neck Cancers Panel Member
NCCN, Thyroid Carcinoma Panel Member
Specialties
Treatment Focus
Head and neck cancers (tumors of the mouth and jaws, tonsil, tongue base, voicebox and sinuses), organ preservation, endocrine surgery (thyroid and parathyroid tumors); salivary gland tumors
Research Program
Key Awards
Surgery
Language(s) Other than English
Treatment Philosophy
Follow on Twitter: @FCCCSurgOnc
Education
Educational Background
- Fellowship, Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Residency, General Surgery, University of Colorado, Denver, CO
- MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 1981
- PhD, Biochemistry, Stanford University, 1978
Certifications
- American Board of Surgery
Memberships
- National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
- Head and Neck Cancers Panel
- Thyroid Carcinoma Panel
- American Association of Endocrine Surgeons
- American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
- American College of Surgeons
- American Head and Neck Society
- American Thyroid Association
- American Radium Society
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Society of Surgical Oncology
Honors & Awards
- Best Doctors in America® , 2013-15, 2019-2020, Surgical Oncology
- Philadelphia Magazine Top Doctors, 2005-19
- America’s Top Doctors® 2015-17
- President, American Radium Society, 2015
- President, American Head and Neck Society, 2010
Research Profile
Research Interests
- Nonsurgical management of head and neck cancer
- Organ preservation
- New techniques in head and neck surgery
- Early and advanced thyroid tumors
- Clinical trial design
Most of my research within the last 20 years has been undertaken at a national level, and has involved the design and execution of clinical trials. I am a member of of Fox Chase Cancer Center patient care and scientific strengths to address head and neck cancer, I have formally joined the molecular therapeutics program at Fox Chase, where I provide an important clinical context for research, promote translational goals (with patients and physician colleagues), and link with clinicians in other fields.
Publications
Selected Publications
Eze N, Lee JW, Yang DH, Zhu F, Neumeister V, Sandoval-Schaefer T, Mehra R, Ridge JA, Forastiere A, Chung CH, Burtness B. PTEN loss is associated with resistance to cetuximab in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oral oncology, 91:69-78, 2019. PubMed
Fakhry C, Zhang Q, Gillison ML, Nguyen-Tan PF, Rosenthal DI, Weber RS, Lambert L, Trotti AM, 3rd, Barrett WL, Thorstad WL, Yom SS, Wong SJ, Ridge JA, Rao SSD, Spencer S, Fortin A, Raben D, Harris J, Le QT. Validation of NRG oncology/RTOG-0129 risk groups for HPV-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer: Implications for risk-based therapeutic intensity trials. Cancer, 2019. PubMed
Murphy CT, Galloway TJ, Handorf EA, Egleston BL, Wang LS, Mehra R, Flieder DB, Ridge JA. The survival impact of increasing time to treatment initiation for patient with head and neck cancer in the United States. J Clin Oncol, in press. PubMed
Lango MN, Galloway TJ, Mehra R, Ebersole B, Liu JC, Moran K, Ridge JA. Impact of baseline patient-reported dysphagia on acute gastrostomy placement in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma undergoing definitive radiation. Head Neck. 2015 Aug 31. doi: 10.1002/hed.24220. PubMed PMID: 26332292. PubMed
Beck TN, Kaczmar J, Handorf E, Nikonova A, Dubyk C, Peri S, Lango M, Ridge JA, Serebriiskii IG, Burtness B, Golemis EA, Mehra R. Phospho-T356RB1 predicts survival in HPV-negative squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Oncotarget. 2015 Aug 7;6(22):18863-74. PubMed PMID: 26265441. PubMed
Ridge JA. Why "head and neck cancer"? Surg Oncol Clin N Am. 2015 Jul;24(3):xv-xvi. doi: 10.1016/j.soc.2015.04.001. PubMed PMID: 25979405. PubMed
Ringash J, Bernstein LJ, Cella D, Logemann J, Movsas B, Murphy B, Trotti A, Wells N, Yueh B, Ridge J. Outcomes toolbox for head and neck cancer research. Head Neck. 2015 Mar;37(3):425-39. doi: 10.1002/hed.23561. Epub 2015 Jan 22. PubMed
Pfister DG, Spencer S, Brizel DM, Burtness B, Busse PM, Caudell JJ, Cmelak AJ, Colevas AD, Dunphy F, Eisele DW, Gilbert J, Gillison ML, Haddad RI, Haughey BH, Hicks WL Jr, Hitchcock YJ, Jimeno A, Kies MS, Lydiatt WM, Maghami E, Martins R, McCaffrey T, Mell LK, Mittal BB, Pinto HA, Ridge JA, Rodriguez CP, Samant S, Schuller DE, Shah JP, Weber RS, Wolf GT, Worden F, Yom SS, McMillian NR, Hughes M. Head and neck cancers, Version 2.2014. Clinical practice guidelines in oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2014 Oct;12(10):1454-87. PubMed PMID: 25313184. PubMed
Tejani MA, Galloway TJ, Lango M, Ridge JA, von Mehren M. Head and neck sarcomas: a comprehensive cancer center experience. Cancers (Basel). 2013 Jul 15;5(3):890-900. doi: 10.3390/cancers5030890. PubMed PMID: 24202325; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3795370. PubMed
Mehra R, Zhu F, Yang DH, Cai KQ, Weaver J, Singh MK, Nikonova AS, Golemis EA, Flieder DB, Cooper HS, Lango M, Ridge JA, Burtness B. Quantification of excision repair cross-complementing group 1 and survival in p16-negative squamous cell head and neck cancers. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Dec 1;19(23):6633-43. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-13-0152. Epub 2013 Oct 2. PubMed PMID: 24088734; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4045641. PubMed
Lango M, Flieder D, Arrangoiz R, Veloski C, Yu JQ, Li T, Burtness B, Mehra R, Galloway T, Ridge JA. Extranodal extension of metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma: correlation with biochemical endpoints, nodal persistence, and
systemic disease progression. Thyroid. 2013 Sep;23(9):1099-105. doi: 10.1089/thy.2013.0027. PubMed PMID: 23421588; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3770240. PubMed
Garg MK, Ridge JA, Yom SS, McDonald MW, Quon H, Smith RV, Yeung AR, Lawson J, Saba N, Salama JK, Beitler JJ. Reply, contralateral irradiation for T(limited)N2bM0 lateralized tonsil cancer. Head Neck. 2013 Mar;35(3):465-6. doi:
10.1002/hed.23212. Epub 2013 Feb 5. PubMed PMID: 23386559. PubMed
Additional Publications
Related Articles
20 PATIENT COMMENTS
-
5.0
October 15, 2019
So far so good.
-
5.0
October 02, 2019
Dr. Ridge saved my life.
-
5.0
September 26, 2019
Dr. Ridge is such a wonderful physician, a true asset to Fox Chase.
-
5.0
September 24, 2019
All good.
-
5.0
September 24, 2019
Good!!!
-
5.0
September 19, 2019
Dr. Ridge best doctor.
-
5.0
August 16, 2019
Excellent experience with my visit with Dr. Ridge
-
5.0
August 13, 2019
Dr Ridge and staff they. where excellent
-
5.0
July 21, 2019
Because of Dr. Ridge and nursing staff, I look forward to my check up appts. Dr. Ridge understands my questions and fear of reoccurrence of cancer - any time I have called between scheduled appts. with a concern, I am able to speak with someone and get an appt. to see doctor. I always recommend Fox Chase!
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5.0
July 08, 2019
Got specialist - best and consistently gives thoughtful, good analysis/advice.
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5.0
June 02, 2019
very professional and knowledgeable
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4.0
May 21, 2019
Left with confidence situation is not getting worse & that I should be fine.
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4.4
May 16, 2019
Dr. Ridge is outstanding in his field. I am very grateful for his continued follow ups and advice.
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5.0
May 14, 2019
Very much respect Dr. Ridge. He does not mince words which I like. I trust him.
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5.0
May 10, 2019
I am always treaded VERY good by Dr. Ridge and everyone else involved in my care at FCCC.
-
5.0
April 18, 2019
Exceptional, we came to the right place.
-
5.0
April 16, 2019
All of my experiences were very good as usual with Dr. Ridge.
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5.0
March 19, 2019
All good.
-
5.0
March 14, 2019
Everyone was excellent! [...]
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5.0
March 03, 2019
I've been w/Dr. Ridge since '93 - I trust him w/my life (literally).
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