Associate Professor Brett Hughes
Associate Professor

Brett Hughes

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Background

Dr Brett Hughes graduated from the University of NSW with a Bachelor of Medical Science and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 1997. He completed his postgraduate training in Canberra and Brisbane and was admitted as a Fellow of the Australian College of Physicians as a Specialist Medical Oncologist in 2005.

Dr Hughes is currently a Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist at the RBWH and TPCH. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland since 2015. As the previous Clinical Director of Oncology (201-2017) and current Cancer Care Services Research lead at TPCH, Dr Hughes has established both an independent TPCH Oncology unit and continuing TPCH’s reputation as a lung cancer research centre of excellence.

Dr Hughes is an active senior member of the Thoracic Oncology Group Australasia (TOGA) and the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG). He is also heavily involved in many pivotal multicentre trials of cancer therapy at both TPCH and RBWH with his principal research interests in Lung cancer, Head & Neck cancer, Mesothelioma, cutaneous SCC and Thyroid cancer. He has published over 100 peer review papers. Dr Hughes is also involved in undergraduate and post graduate teaching in his fields of research interest.

Availability

Associate Professor Brett Hughes is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Oncology and carcinogenesis

Search Professor Brett Hughes’s works on UQ eSpace

221 works between 2004 and 2026
All (221) Journal Article (168) Conference Publication (53)

1 - 20 of 221 works

2026

Journal Article

KEYNOTE-867: A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy With Pembrolizumab for Unresected Stage I or II Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Jabbour, Salma K., Sótér, Szabolcs, Eaton, Michael, Gálffy, Gabriella, Kowalski, Dariusz, Hata, Akito, Valdivia, Augusto, Frost, Nikolaj, Levchenko, Evgeny, Monteiro, Mariana, Haridass, Anoop, Bouchard, Myriam, Lee, Ki Hyeong, Ahn, Myung-Ju, Hughes, Brett G.M., Durham, André, Xu, Yan, Samkari, Ayman, Song, Andrew and Pircher, Andreas (2026). KEYNOTE-867: A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy With Pembrolizumab for Unresected Stage I or II Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology JCO-26-00404. doi: 10.1200/jco-26-00404

KEYNOTE-867: A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy With Pembrolizumab for Unresected Stage I or II Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

2026

Journal Article

Phase II Study of Neoadjuvant Cemiplimab for Stage II to IV Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Final Analysis

Gross, Neil D., Miller, David M., Khushalani, Nikhil I., Divi, Vasu, Ruiz, Emily S., Lipson, Evan J., Meier, Friedegund, Su, Yungpo Bernard, Swiecicki, Paul L., Atlas, Jennifer, Geiger, Jessica L., Hauschild, Axel, Choe, Jennifer Hsing, Hughes, Brett G.M., Lim, Annette M., Ferrarotto, Renata, Wang, Bei, Tao, Weiwei, Brennan, Laura, Yoo, Suk-Young, Seebach, Frank, Lowy, Israel, Mathias, Melissa, Han, Hyunsil, Fury, Matthew G. and Rischin, Danny (2026). Phase II Study of Neoadjuvant Cemiplimab for Stage II to IV Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Final Analysis. Journal of Clinical Oncology JCO-26-02166. doi: 10.1200/jco-26-02166

Phase II Study of Neoadjuvant Cemiplimab for Stage II to IV Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Final Analysis

2026

Journal Article

Longitudinal liquid biopsy alongside positron emission tomography‐computed tomography surveillance in p16‐positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A translational case study

Damodaran, Sreedevi, Weeramange, Chameera Ekanayake, Kenny, Lizbeth, Vasani, Sarju, Breik, Omar, Taheri, Touraj, Leo, Paul, Hughes, Brett G. M. and Punyadeera, Chamindie (2026). Longitudinal liquid biopsy alongside positron emission tomography‐computed tomography surveillance in p16‐positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A translational case study. Clinical and Translational Discovery, 6 (5) e70220, 5. doi: 10.1002/ctd2.70220

Longitudinal liquid biopsy alongside positron emission tomography‐computed tomography surveillance in p16‐positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A translational case study

2026

Journal Article

Skull base surgery: a patient-centred perspective on care and recovery

Hiatt, Joanne, Brown, Teresa, Sommerville, Ryan, Gan, Richard, Walker, Abigail, Burns, Clare, Moroney, Laura, Hughes, Brett and Bauer, Judy (2026). Skull Base Surgery: A Patient-Centred Perspective on Care and Recovery. Journal of Neurological Surgery Part B: Skull Base. doi: 10.1055/a-2928-4058

Skull base surgery: a patient-centred perspective on care and recovery

2026

Journal Article

Real-world treatment sequencing and survival in ROS1-Rearranged NSCLC across evolving treatment eras: Findings from the AURORA multi-centre registry (AURORA-ROS1)

Itchins, Malinda, Alexander, Marliese, Kao, Steven, Nagrial, Adnan, Brown, Lauren J., Bowyer, Samantha, Parakh, Sagun, Moore, Melissa, Kong, Benjamin Y., Yeo, Nicholas, Hughes, Brett G. M., Arulananda, Surein, Chin, Venessa, Warburton, Lydia, Khoo, Trisha, Mersiades, Antony J., Leigh, Lilian, Rogers, Jennifer, Pavlakis, Nick and Solomon, Benjamin J. (2026). Real-world treatment sequencing and survival in ROS1-Rearranged NSCLC across evolving treatment eras: Findings from the AURORA multi-centre registry (AURORA-ROS1). Lung Cancer, 218 109500, 109500. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2026.109500

Real-world treatment sequencing and survival in ROS1-Rearranged NSCLC across evolving treatment eras: Findings from the AURORA multi-centre registry (AURORA-ROS1)

2026

Journal Article

Survival and toxicity in elderly patients treated with chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer: a retrospective study at a large quaternary centre

Sekar, Prasanth, Goetz, Julika, Ng, Gary, Nottage, Michelle and Hughes, Brett G. M. (2026). Survival and toxicity in elderly patients treated with chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer: a retrospective study at a large quaternary centre. Clinical Oncology, 56 104191, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2026.104191

Survival and toxicity in elderly patients treated with chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer: a retrospective study at a large quaternary centre

2026

Journal Article

A prospective study of definitive ChemoRadiation with ImmunOtherapy (CRIO) in locally or regionally advanced, unresectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Lin, Charles, Ng, Gary, Nottage, Michelle K, Kenny, Lizbeth, Chua, Benjamin, Keller, Jacqui, Edmunds, Jennifer, Pritchard, Wendy, Hay, Karen, Dunn, Darryl and Hughes, Brett G.M (2026). A prospective study of definitive ChemoRadiation with ImmunOtherapy (CRIO) in locally or regionally advanced, unresectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Advances in Radiation Oncology, 11 (8) 102041, 102041-8. doi: 10.1016/j.adro.2026.102041

A prospective study of definitive ChemoRadiation with ImmunOtherapy (CRIO) in locally or regionally advanced, unresectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

2026

Journal Article

Authors’ Response

Punyadeera, Chamindie, Huang, Xiaomin, Balakittnen, Jaikrishna, Weeramange, Chameera Ekanayake, Vasani, Sarju, Wijesekera, Akila, Kenny, Lizbeth, Ladwa, Rahul and Hughes, Brett G.M. (2026). Authors’ Response. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 157 (9), 954-956. doi: 10.1016/j.adaj.2026.06.017

Authors’ Response

2026

Journal Article

Salivary oral rinse offers a noninvasive method to detect oral human papillomavirus infections on the GeneXpert system

Huang, Xiaomin, Balakittnen, Jaikrishna, Weeramange, Chameera Ekanayake, Vasani, Sarju, Wijesekera, Akila, Kenny, Lizbeth, Ladwa, Rahul, Hughes, Brett G.M. and Punyadeera, Chamindie (2026). Salivary oral rinse offers a noninvasive method to detect oral human papillomavirus infections on the GeneXpert system. Journal of the American Dental Association, 157 (5), 448-458. doi: 10.1016/j.adaj.2026.02.013

Salivary oral rinse offers a noninvasive method to detect oral human papillomavirus infections on the GeneXpert system

2026

Journal Article

Defining the tumor microenvironment of non‐small cell lung cancer

Embaye, Kidane Siele, Blick, Tony, Naei, Vahid Yaghoubi, O'Byrne, Ken, Hughes, Brett G. M. and Kulasinghe, Arutha (2026). Defining the tumor microenvironment of non‐small cell lung cancer. Immunology and Cell Biology, 104 (5) imcb.70114, 499-518. doi: 10.1111/imcb.70114

Defining the tumor microenvironment of non‐small cell lung cancer

2026

Journal Article

Clinical outcomes of the POPCORN Study: pharmacodynamics of pre-operative PD1 CheckpOint blockade and Receptor Activator of NF-κB Ligand (RANKL) inhibition in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)-a phase 1B/2 Trial

Ahern, Elizabeth, Turner, Cassie, Naidoo, Rishendran, Godbolt, David, Ives, Amy, Popplewell, Kirsten, Lwin, Zarnie, Pearson, Sally, Nelson, Kimberley, Madore, Jason, Dougall, William C. and Hughes, Brett G. M. (2026). Clinical outcomes of the POPCORN Study: pharmacodynamics of pre-operative PD1 CheckpOint blockade and Receptor Activator of NF-κB Ligand (RANKL) inhibition in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)-a phase 1B/2 Trial. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology ajco.70107. doi: 10.1111/ajco.70107

Clinical outcomes of the POPCORN Study: pharmacodynamics of pre-operative PD1 CheckpOint blockade and Receptor Activator of NF-κB Ligand (RANKL) inhibition in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)-a phase 1B/2 Trial

2026

Journal Article

Erratum: Correction to: Circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA in head and neck cancer: from molecular insights to clinical impact (Cancer metastasis reviews (2025) 44 4 PII: 24 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-025-10305-y.)

Damodaran, Sreedevi, Weeramange, Chameera Ekanayake, Kenny, Lizbeth, Vasani, Sarju, Hughes, Brett G M, Breik, Omar and Punyadeera, Chamindie (2026). Erratum: Correction to: Circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA in head and neck cancer: from molecular insights to clinical impact (Cancer metastasis reviews (2025) 44 4 PII: 24 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-025-10305-y.). Cancer metastasis reviews, 45 (2) 24. doi: 10.1007/s10555-026-10329-y

Erratum: Correction to: Circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA in head and neck cancer: from molecular insights to clinical impact (Cancer metastasis reviews (2025) 44 4 PII: 24 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-025-10305-y.)

2026

Journal Article

Extended follow-up outcomes of patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma treated with cemiplimab on EMPOWER-CSCC-1: A retrospective cohort study

Bennett, Catherine, McLean, Luke S., Lim, Annette M., Bressel, Mathias, Guminski, Alexander, Hughes, Brett G.M., Bowyer, Samantha E., Stein, Brian and Rischin, Danny (2026). Extended follow-up outcomes of patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma treated with cemiplimab on EMPOWER-CSCC-1: A retrospective cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 94 (4), 1151-1157. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2025.11.080

Extended follow-up outcomes of patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma treated with cemiplimab on EMPOWER-CSCC-1: A retrospective cohort study

2025

Journal Article

Comparison of prophylactic versus reactive tube feeding approaches on weight loss and unplanned hospital admissions in patients with head and neck cancer receiving chemoradiotherapy

Brown, Teresa, Cooney, Louise, Smith, David, Elvin-Walsh, Louise, Kern, Eliza, Ahern, Suzanne, Brown, Bena, Hickman, Ingrid, Porceddu, Sandro, Kenny, Lizbeth and Hughes, Brett (2025). Comparison of prophylactic versus reactive tube feeding approaches on weight loss and unplanned hospital admissions in patients with head and neck cancer receiving chemoradiotherapy. Current Oncology, 33 (1) 5. doi: 10.3390/curroncol33010005

Comparison of prophylactic versus reactive tube feeding approaches on weight loss and unplanned hospital admissions in patients with head and neck cancer receiving chemoradiotherapy

2025

Journal Article

Circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA in head and neck cancer: from molecular insights to clinical impact

Damodaran, Sreedevi, Weeramange, Chameera Ekanayake, Kenny, Lizbeth, Vasani, Sarju, Hughes, Brett G. M., Breik, Omar and Punyadeera, Chamindie (2025). Circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA in head and neck cancer: from molecular insights to clinical impact. Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, 44 (4) 88, 1-28. doi: 10.1007/s10555-025-10305-y

Circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA in head and neck cancer: from molecular insights to clinical impact

2025

Journal Article

Development of a circulating tumour cell culture model from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Huang, Xiaomin, Zhang, Xi, Weeramange, Chameera Ekanayake, Leo, Paul, Hughes, Brett G. M., Dolcetti, Riccardo, Zeng, Bijun, Mazzieri, Roberta, Hartel, Gunter, Ladwa, Rahul, Taheri, Touraj, Breik, Omar, Kenny, Lizbeth, Vasani, Sarju and Punyadeera, Chamindie (2025). Development of a circulating tumour cell culture model from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. View, 6 (6) 20250085, 1-13. doi: 10.1002/VIW.20250085

Development of a circulating tumour cell culture model from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

2025

Journal Article

Impact of PD-L1 on first-line osimertinib outcomes in EGFR-mutant NSCLC: real-world data from the AURORA25 study and meta-analysis

Alexander, Marliese, Itchins, Malinda, Felthun, Jonathan, Nagrial, Adnan, Brown, Lauren J., O'Byrne, Kenneth, Mersiades, Antony J., Hughes, Brett G.M., Warburton, Lydia, Kong, Benjamin Y., Moore, Melissa, Blinman, Prunella, Bowyer, Samantha, Clay, Timothy, Spelman, Tim, Pavlakis, Nick, Solomon, Benjamin J. and Kao, Steven (2025). Impact of PD-L1 on first-line osimertinib outcomes in EGFR-mutant NSCLC: real-world data from the AURORA25 study and meta-analysis. Lung Cancer, 211 108854. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2025.108854

Impact of PD-L1 on first-line osimertinib outcomes in EGFR-mutant NSCLC: real-world data from the AURORA25 study and meta-analysis

2025

Journal Article

Second-line treatment strategies and clinical outcomes after progression on chemoimmunotherapy in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer

Andreas, V., Faltys, M., Alexander, M., Rogers, J., Parakh, S., Bowyer, S., Warburton, L., Fantoni, A., Clay, T., Arulananda, S., Sullivan, I., Kao, S., Da Silva, I., Brown, L. J., Hughes, B. G. M., Itchins, M., Solomon, B. and John, T. (2025). Second-line treatment strategies and clinical outcomes after progression on chemoimmunotherapy in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer. Lung Cancer, 209 108786. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2025.108786

Second-line treatment strategies and clinical outcomes after progression on chemoimmunotherapy in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer

2025

Journal Article

Tumour-informed workflow to use ctDNA as a biomarker for risk of recurrence in head and neck cancer patients post-treatment

Huang, Xiaomin, Leo, Paul, Clout, Mhairi, Fink, Lynn, Ellis, Jonathan, Hughes, Brett G. M., Kenny, Lizbeth, Vasani, Sarju and Punyadeera, Chamindie (2025). Tumour-informed workflow to use ctDNA as a biomarker for risk of recurrence in head and neck cancer patients post-treatment. VIEW, 7 (2) 20250112, 1-13. doi: 10.1002/VIW.20250112

Tumour-informed workflow to use ctDNA as a biomarker for risk of recurrence in head and neck cancer patients post-treatment

2025

Journal Article

Response-adapted surgical and radiotherapy de-escalation in resectable cutaneous squamous cell cancer using pembrolizumab: the De-Squamate study

Ladwa, Rahul, Lee, Jenny H., McGrath, Margaret, Cooper, Caroline, Liu, Howard, Bowman, James, Gupta, Ruta, Cuscaden, Claire, Nottage, Michelle, Clark, Jonathan R., Le, Dieu, Pauley, Marketa, Kulasinghe, Arutha, Gonzalez-Cruz, Jazmina, Porceddu, Sandro V., Hughes, Brett G.M. and Panizza, Benedict (2025). Response-adapted surgical and radiotherapy de-escalation in resectable cutaneous squamous cell cancer using pembrolizumab: the De-Squamate study. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 43 (26) JCO-25-00387, 2888-2896. doi: 10.1200/jco-25-00387

Response-adapted surgical and radiotherapy de-escalation in resectable cutaneous squamous cell cancer using pembrolizumab: the De-Squamate study

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2026
    From Pixels to Prognosis: Harnessing single-cell spatial analysis to predict and improve immunotherapy response in lung cancer
    Cure Cancer Early Career Research Grants
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023 - 2026
    Developing a multi-omic, high-dimensional assessment of head and neck cancer
    Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation Conjoint Grant
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2016
    NITRO Trial: A randomised phase III trial of adding nitroglycerin to first line chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NHMRC Project Grant administered by the University of Sydney)
    University of Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2016
    Improving quality of life in high-risk cancer populations: a randomised trial of a structured intervention for head and neck cancer survivors
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant

Availability

Associate Professor Brett Hughes is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Developing predictive biomarkers for immunotherapy using deep spatial profiling

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Spatial profiling of the tumour microenvironment to determine predictors of clinical responses to therapy

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The changing face of head and neck cancer: addressing and advancing best-practice nutritional care to improve outcomes for patients with human papillomavirus-associated disease

    Associate Advisor

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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communications@uq.edu.au