Shirish Gadgeel

Bio

After completing the first portion of his medical training in India, Shirish Gadgeel, M.D., moved to America to study internal medicine at LaGuardia Hospital in New York. He had already spent three years studying internal medicine at the University of Bombay, but continued his studies in internal medicine as well as further specialization in hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplantation in the United States.

The year before beginning his internship at LaGuardia Hospital, Gadgeel had served as a Department of Internal Medicine staff physician at the University of Bombay. He chose to further his education for the next six years before obtaining licensure from the Michigan Board of Medicine and returning his attention to his clinical practice.

As the medical oncology team leader at the Barbara Karmanos Cancer Institute's Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Team, Gadgeel is one of the center's foremost experts in mesothelioma and lung cancer care. The team hosts a collaborative meeting each Thursday, where specialists from a number of distinct disciplines strive to create a thorough therapy plan for each patient. When possible, Gadgeel and his team incorporate the most promising combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and other services.

When taking his board certification exams, Gadgeel scored in the top 10 percentile for the hematology, medical oncology and internal medicine tests. Since earning his certifications, he has served as a reviewer for a number of scholarly journals, including Clinical Lung Cancer, Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy and the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

Gadgeel has contributed to several major mesothelioma research projects, including a study with renowned mesothelioma specialist, Harvey Pass, M.D. The colleagues published a case history of a male pleural mesothelioma patient whose lung capacity had been reduced to only 77 percent of its expected function. Gadgeel and Pass explained the treatment choices selected for the patient as well as the outcomes, which ultimately halted the patient's tumor progression.

Gadgeel's team at the Karmanos Cancer Center takes a special interest in developing new screening and detection tests for mesothelioma. In fall 2011 they operated two mesothelioma-specific clinical trials, including a study of novel mesothelioma therapeutics and a phase 2 study of pemetrexed and cisplatin. 

Several of Gadgeel's research projects have been selected for presentation at major scholastic and academic conventions, such as the 2nd Annual Gianni Ferraroti Lung Cancer Foundation convention. Gadgeel was also interviewed for a news item on lung cancer by a local programming channel.

Publications

Gadgeel has contributed to nearly 50 articles, many of which discuss genetic factors of cancer treatment. He has also authored the reviews of several clinical trials, including a 2011 phase 2 study of pemetrexed and cisplatin for lung cancer patients, as well as another 2011 phase 2 trial for platinum-based chemotherapy with maintenance therapy.