Nestor Rigual, MD, FACS

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Professor of Oncology
Physician Leader, Head & Neck Center
Department of Head & Neck/Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Medical Director, Photodynamic Therapy Center
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology Residency Training Program Director
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo

Profile

Areas of Expertise: 
Head & neck melanoma
Laryngeal cancer
Endocrine surgery
Skull Base & sinus tumors
Minimally invasive skull base surgery
Treatment of head and neck malignancies with photodynamic therapy (PDT)
Salivary gland tumors
Plastic /reconstructive surgery of the head and neck

Research

Research Interests: 
Auto-fluorescence and diagnosis of premalignant and malignant oral cavity lesions
Chemoprevention for head and neck cancer and dysplasia
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treatment of head and neck cancer and dysplasia

Background Information

Education and Training: 
MD - University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK
Residency: 
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK.
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo
Board Certification: 
Otolaryngology, American Board of Otolaryngology
Fellowships: 
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Publications

Publications: 
  • Sunar U, Rohrbach D, Rigual N, Tracy E, Keymel K, Cooper MT, Baumann H, Henderson BH. Monitoring photobleaching and hemodynamic responses to HPPH-mediated photodynamic therapy of head and neck cancer: a case report. Optics express 2010; 18(14):14969-14978
  • Henderson BH. Monitoring photobleaching and hemodynamic responses to HPPH-mediated photodynamic therapy of head and neck cancer: a case report. Optics express 2010; 18(14):14969-14978
  • Chadha MK, Rigual NR, Thankappan K, Jayaprakash V, Sullivan M, Reid ME, Loree TR. Induction chemotherapy for stage III/IV oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell cancers. Journal of clinical oncology 2010; 28(15 Suppl.):e16012
  • Cohan DM, Popat S, Kaplan SE, Rigual N, Loree T, Hicks Jr WL. Oropharyngeal cancer: current understanding and management. Current opinion in otolaryngology and head and neck surgery 2009; 17(2):88-94
  • Fabiano AJ, Rigual NR, Belber CS, Fenstermaker RA. Endoscopic sellar floor reconstruction with concha bullosa bone autograft and nasal septal flap: technical case report. Minimally invasive neurosurgery : MIN 2009; 52(2):86-88
  • Jayaprakash V, Bogaards A, Frustino J, Gill SR, Wilson BC, Mang TS, Hutson AD, Marshall JR, Johnson T, Ramananda S, Moysich KB, Popat SR, Loree TR, Rigual NR, Merzianu M, Sullivan M, Reid ME. Autofluorescence-guided surveillance for oral cancer. Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2009; 2(11):966-974
  • McCloskey SA, Loree TR, Khan MK, Mashtare TL, Sullivan M, Popat SR, Hicks WL, Rigual NR, Jaggernauth W, Singh AK. Radiation treatment interruptions greater than one week and low hemoglobin levels (12 g/dL) are predictors of local regional failure after definitive concurrent chemotherapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. American journal of clinical oncology 2009; 32(6):587-591
  • Rigual NR, Thankappan K, Cooper M, Sullivan MA, Dougherty T, Popat SR, Loree TR, Biel MA, Henderson B. Photodynamic therapy for head and neck dysplasia and cancer. Archives of otolaryngology--head and neck surgery 2009; 135(8):784-788
  • Seshadri M, Merzianu M, Tang H, Rigual NR, Sullivan M, Loree TR, Popat SR, Repasky EA, Hylander BL. Establishment and characterization of patient tumor-derived head and neck squamous cell carcinoma xenografts. Cancer biology and therapy 2009; 8(23):2275-2283
  • Tezal M, Nasca MS, Stoler DL, Melendy T, Hyland A, Smaldino PJ, Rigual NR, Loree TR. Chronic periodontitis-human papillomavirus synergy in base of tongue cancers. Archives of otolaryngology--head and neck surgery 2009; 135(4):391-396
  • Tezal M, Wactawski-Wende J, Lillis C, Hauck L, Merzianu M, Rigual NR, Loree TR, Reid ME, Stoler D, Marshall JR, Hyland A, Sullivan MA, Scannapieco FA. Chronic periodontitis and the incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers and prevention 2009; 18(9):2406-2412
  • Platek ME, Merzianu M, Mashtare TL, Popat SR, Rigual NR, Warren GW, Singh AK. Improved survival following surgery and radiation therapy for olfactory neuroblastoma: analysis of the SEER database. Radiation oncology (London, England) 2011; 6:41
  • Jayaprakash V, Natarajan KK, Moysich KB, Rigual NR, Ramnath N, Natarajan N, Reid ME. Wood dust exposure and the risk of upper aero-digestive and respiratory cancers in males. Occupational and environmental medicine 2008; 65(10):647-654
  • Rigual NR, Popat SR, Jayaprakash V, Jaggernauth W, Wong M. Cutaneous head and neck melanoma: the old and the new. Expert review of anticancer therapy 2008; 8(3):403-412
  • Foster JM, Filocamo P, Nava H, Schiff M, Hicks W, Rigual N, Smith J, Loree T, Gibbs JF. The introducer technique is the optimal method for placing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes in head and neck cancer patients. Surgical endoscopy 2007; 21(6):897-901
  • Mhawech-Fauceglia P, Ramzy P, Bshara W, Sait S, Rigual N. Synovial sarcoma of the larynx in a 79-year-old woman, confirmed by karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. Annals of diagnostic pathology 2007; 11(3):223-227
  • Nowak NJ, Hicks D, Weiss LM, Sullivan M, Rigual N, Loree T, Stoler D, Reid M, Mhawech-Fauceglia P, Forman SJ, Kernstine K, Smith DD, Bobadilla D, Gaile D, Moore SR, Miecznikowski J, Slovak ML. Challenges in array comparative genomic hybridization for the analysis of cancer samples. Genetics in medicine 2007; 9(9):585-595
  • Rigual NR, Cheney RT, Iwenofu OH, Li Q, Loree TR, Popat SR, Merzianu M. Idiosyncrasies of scalp melanoma. Laryngoscope 2007; 117(8):1354-1358
  • Solomon LW, Merzianu M, Sullivan M, Rigual NR. Necrotizing sialometaplasia associated with bulimia: case report and literature review. Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology, oral radiology, and endodontics 2007; 103(2):e39-e42
  • Stoler DL, Sait SN, Hicks WL Jr, Rigual NR, Loree TR, Bartos JD, Dutt SS, Chen N, Wiseman SM, Matsui S, Nowak NJ, Anderson GR. Comparative genomic instabilities of thyroid and colon cancers. Archives of otolaryngology--head and neck surgery 2007; 133(5):457-463
  • Malin BT, Merzianu M, Cherr GS, Thankappan K, Rigual NR. Acute carotid rupture associated with postoperative Staphylococcus Aureus infection. Laryngoscope 2011; 121(Suppl. 5):S288
  • Srivatsan A, Wang Y-F, Joshi P, Sajjad M, Chen Y-H, Liu C, Thankppan K, Missert JR, Tracy E, Morgan J, Rigual N, Baumann H, Pandey RK. In vitro cellular uptake and dimerization of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) identify the photosensitizing and imaging-potential of isomeric photosensitizers derived from chlorophyll-a and bacteriochlorophyll-a. Journal of medicinal chemistry 2011; 54(19):6859-6873
  • Bogner PN, Rigual NR, Ferrone S, Wilding C, Cheney RT. Reduced expression of the chaperone protein calnexin is associated with sentinel lymph node metastasis of oral carcinoma. Laboratory investigation 2007; 87(Suppl. 1):1011
  • Chadha K, Thatikonda C, Miller A, Nava H, Sitrin M, Hicks W, Rigual N, Loree T, Schiff M. Outcomes of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement using the Brown-Muller T-fastener Technique in Head, Neck and Esophageal Cancer patients. American journal of gastroenterology 2009; 104(Suppl. 3):Abstract #1351
  • Mang T, Sullivan-Nasca M, Reid M, Rigual N, Jayaprakash V, Menezes R, Loree T. Autofluorescence detection of oral malignancies. Oral oncology 2007; 2(Suppl.):121
  • McCloskey SA, Jaggernauth W, Schwarz JK, Mashtare TL, Khan MK, Hicks WL, Popat SR, Rigual NR, Loree TR, Singh AK. Radiation treatment interruptions greater than 1 week and low hemoglobin levels (12 gm/dl)) triple local regional failure following definitive concurrent chemotherapy and IMRT for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 2008; 72(1 Suppl.):S407
  • Rossitto R, Sullivan M, Rigual N, Alberico R, Casey D. Protocol for CT and MRI on patients with craniofacial implants. Oral oncology 2007; 2(Suppl.):133-134
  • Jayaprakash V, Reid M, Hatton E, Merzianu M, Rigual N, Marshall J, Gill S, Frustino J, Wilding G, Loree T, Popat S, Sullivan M. Human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in epithelial dysplasia of oral cavity and oropharynx: a meta-analysis, 1985-2010. Oral oncology 2011; 47(11):1048-1054
  • Platek ME, Reid ME, Wilding GE, Jaggernauth W, Rigual NR, Hicks WL Jr, Popat SR, Warren GW, Sullivan M, Thorstad WL, Khan MK, Loree TR, Singh AK. Pretreatment nutritional status and locoregional failure of patients with head and neck cancer undergoing definitive concurrent chemoradiation therapy. Head and neck 2011; 33(11):1561-1568
  • Fabiano AJ, Rigual N, Munich S, Fenstermaker RA. Esthesioneuroblastoma resection via the expanded endonasal endoscopic approach. Neuro-oncology 2011; 13(Suppl. 3):156-157
  • Platek ME, Cruz M, Sharma N, Burke M, Popat S, Loree T, Rigual N, Hicks W, Warren G, Singh A. Impact of Percentage of Pre-Treatment Ideal Body Weight On Outcomes of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Definitive Concurrent Chemoradiation Therapy. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 2011; 81(2 Suppl.):S547
  • Platek ME, Cruz M, Sharma N, Burke M, Popat S, Loree T, Rigual N, Hicks W, Warren G, Singh A. Quantification of the Effect of Treatment Duration on Local Regional Failure after Definitive Concurrent Chemotherapy and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck (SCCHN). International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics 2011; 81(2 Suppl.):S542-S543
  • Fabiano AJ, Qiu J, Rigual N. Thyroid Hurthle cell carcinoma metastatic to the pituitary gland. Thyroid 2012; 22(4):442
  • Bole C, Jayaprakash V, Platek M, Reid ME, Sullivan M, Loree T, Rigual N, Popat S, Moysich KB. Coffee and tea consumption and risk of head and neck cancers. American journal of epidemiology 2009; 169(Suppl. 11):S49
  • Tezal M, Scannapieco FA, Wactawski-Wende J, Hyland A, Marshall JR, Rigual NR, Stoler DL. Local inflammation and human papillomavirus status of head and neck cancers. Archives of otolaryngology--head and neck surgery 2012; 138(7):669-675
  • Rohrbach DJ, Rigual N, Tracy E, Kowalczewski A, Keymel KL, Cooper MT, Mo W, Baumann H, Henderson BW, Sunar U. Interlesion differences in the local photodynamic therapy response of oral cavity lesions assessed by diffuse optical spectroscopies. Biomedical optics express 2012; 3(9):2142-2153