[1] Lyman is most known for his efforts in managing the adverse effects of cancer treatment including neutropenia and thrombosis among other toxicities along with establishing the clinical application of colony-stimulating factors and oral anticoagulants.
[6] In his early research Lyman investigated how aprotic solvents and divalent cations affect the stability of phospholipid membranes and their correlation with the differentiation of Friend leukemia cells in vitro.
[12] In 1980, his RCT investigated the potential of lithium carbonate supplementation to reduce infectious complications and improve outcomes in patients undergoing systemic chemotherapy for small-cell bronchogenic carcinoma.
[13] While lithium proved too toxic, it was associated with increased production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) found to be effective clinically in collaboration with J Crawford and others.
[16] In a 1996 study, along with DS Reintgen, C Cox and others, Lyman demonstrated through a prospective trial that lymphatic mapping in invasive breast cancer accurately identifies sentinel lymph nodes, offering potential benefits for staging accuracy and focused histologic examination.
[17] His 2001 collaborative study with C M Balch and others presented AJCC's proposed revisions to melanoma staging based on extensive analysis of data from multiple cancer centers.
The study identified key prognostic factors such as tumor thickness, ulceration, nodal involvement, and metastasis type to improve the accuracy of staging and prognosis in cutaneous melanoma.
[19] In 2008, with colleagues including AA Khorana, NM Kuderer, and others, Lyman and his team developed and presented a predictive model for chemotherapy-associated venous thromboembolism in cancer outpatients based on five clinical and laboratory variables.
[21] In his later work with NM Kuderer and others, he provided a review of chemotherapy-associated adverse events, discussing their biological mechanisms, available treatment strategies, evidence-based guidelines, risk factors, validated assessment tools, and emerging supportive-care opportunities for cancer patients and survivors.