Rate My Professor Dorothy Lombe

Dr. Dorothy Lombe is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Palmerston North) at the University of Otago Medical School, Wellington Campus, in the Faculty of Medicine. As a radiation oncologist, she practices at Palmerston North Hospital and Bowen Icon Cancer Centre, providing consultations at Crest Hospital. She completed her undergraduate medical training at the University of Zambia School of Medicine, postgraduate radiation oncology training at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a clinical and research brachytherapy fellowship at the University of Toronto, Canada. Her qualifications include an MD from the University of Zambia, MMed in Radiation Oncology, Fellowship of the College of Medicine of South Africa in Radiation Oncology (FC Rad Onc CMSA (SA)), and Fellowship of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO). Lombe serves in senior leadership roles in medical education, clinical governance, and research development.

Her research focuses on translational oncology, health systems research, equity in cancer care, and resource-stratified approaches, particularly in low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Key areas include barriers to timely cancer diagnosis and treatment, patient navigation for gynecologic malignancies, cervical and prostate cancer, and radiation therapy in resource-limited settings. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on ddPCR-based circulating tumor DNA assays in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid for glioblastoma to enable biologically informed adaptive radiotherapy strategies. Notable publications include "Access to cancer medicines deemed essential by oncologists in 82 countries: an international, cross-sectional survey" (The Lancet Oncology, 2021), "Cancer medicines on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines: processes, challenges, and a way forward" (The Lancet Global Health, 2022), "Delays in seeking, reaching and access to quality cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review" (BMJ Open, 2023), and "Secondary prevention of cervical cancer: ASCO resource-stratified guideline update" (JCO Global Oncology, 2022). Lombe is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG), contributes to the editorial roster of JCO Global Oncology, and regularly peer-reviews for international journals. She accepts referrals for solid tumor malignancies including CNS cancers, lung, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynaecological cancers, skin cancers, benign conditions, and glioblastoma, utilizing advanced techniques such as stereotactic radiotherapy and brachytherapy.