This month, Hoosier Cancer Research Network highlights the University of Kansas Medical Center as a featured member of our network. Anup Kasi, MD, MPH, assistant professor of oncology at the medical center and a member of the HCRN Gastrointestinal Clinical Trial Working Group, shares his research interests and educational background in this investigator spotlight.

Research Interests:

As a physician-scientist, I can design and initiate my own clinical trials. Most clinical trials are conducted by the pharmaceutical industry, but investigator-initiated trials (IITs) allow specialists to make clinical observations and develop new therapeutic approaches with the goal of improving outcomes. For example, I lead an ongoing IIT that evaluates a novel targeted therapy, called PARP inhibitor, to treat pancreatic cancers containing DNA repair defects. The current standard of care for pancreatic cancer is “one-size-fits-all.” In other cancers, some treatments are tailored based on specific genetic or molecular features. This motivated me to launch the first clinical trial targeting both major and minor DNA repair defects in pancreatic cancer. Read more about this study.

I am currently working on a clinical trial concept involving a novel approach to maintenance treatment for pancreatic cancer patients designed to provide a break from chemotherapy and improve quality of life. I intend to launch this trial through Hoosier Cancer Research Network.

Educational background:

• Medical School:
  • MPH, University of Texas School of Public Health
  • MD, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru, India
• Graduate Research Assistant: MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Residency (Internal Medicine): University of Kansas Medical Center
• Sub-Fellowship (GI Oncology): University of Kansas Medical Center
• Fellowship (Hematology/Oncology): University of Kansas Medical Center

Little-known facts about Dr. Kasi:

• Plays the flute
• Makes photo collages
• Travels with family

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has conducted more than 210 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 350 publications. More than 8,500 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.