Dr Martin Higgins

Dr Martin Higgins is a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at Cork University Hospital.

Graduated from medical school at Trinity College Dublin in 2011 with an honours degree in medicine, being awarded the professors prize in medicine in recognition for results at final medical examinations. He completed internship and basic specialist training in medicine in Dublin, achieving Membership of the Royal College of Physicians in 2014.

Martin completed higher specialist training in radiation oncology through the Royal College of Surgeons between 2015 and 2020, rotating through Cork University Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital Rathgar, St James’s Hospital, Beaumont Hospital and Galway University Hospital . During his training he gained experience in the radiotherapy management of all cancer types and in the use of advanced techniques including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain and spine tumours and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for primary and secondary cancers as well as the use of radio-isotopes for the management of thyroid and prostate cancer. Martin achieved Fellowship of the Faculty of Radiologists of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (FFR RCSI) in 2019 and completed specialist training in Radiation Oncology in 2020, including a tenure as chief registrar of the St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network.

Following completion of specialist training in radiation oncology, Martin undertook a fellowship in stereotactic radiotherapy at the St Luke’s institute of cancer research (SLICR), at St Luke’s Hospital, Dublin followed by an international fellowship in melanoma, skin cancer, cutaneous lymphoma and brain tumours at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. The skin cancer service at Peter Mac is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, where Martin gained extensive experience in managing skin cancer with techniques including superficial radiotherapy, electron beam radiotherapy, external beam radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy.

Martin returned home to Cork as a Consultant at Cork University Hospital in 2022 and maintains an active role in medical education and research as well as developing new radiotherapy techniques at CUH. Since then he developed and leads the stereotactic radiosurgery service for brain tumours, and was a key part of the team that developed stereotactic radiotherapy for prostate cancer. He currently serves as the head of the radiotherapy department at CUH and as the local principle investigator on multiple international clinical trials through Clinical Trials Ireland and IRROG.

Dr Higgins’ special interests include:

• Skin cancer-Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer
• Prostate cancer and other cancers of the genitourinary system (bladder, kidney)
• Brain and spine tumours (primary and secondary tumours of the central nervous system)
• Thyroid cancer
• Skin lymphoma
• Mucosal melanoma
• SRS and SABR techniques
• Radio-isotopes in management of thyroid and prostate cancer
• Palliative radiotherapy
• Radiotherapy for benign conditions