Anita Mahajan, M.D.

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SUMMARY

The research of Anita Mahajan, M.D., involves the treatment of children with cancer and adults with brain and spinal cord tumors. Her studies concentrate on reducing side effects of radiation treatment and improving tumor control. Dr. Mahajan leads a national effort for the treatment of young adults and adults with medulloblastoma, which is an understudied disease. Dr. Mahajan studies neurocognitive outcomes in children after treatment with radiation therapy.

Focus areas

• Adult and young adult medulloblastomas. Dr. Mahajan established a standard of care and understanding of the impact of molecular subtypes in this disease. Her research developed a prospective trial for all people older than 18 with medulloblastomas or pineal embryonal tumors.
• Proton therapy for treatment of children with cancer with the intent of reducing toxicities and improving quality of life. Dr. Mahajan's research treats the whole lung with proton therapy in challenging pediatric situations involving metastatic sarcoma or Wilms tumors.
• Reducing neurocognitive toxicities in adults and children with strategic use of proton therapy. Dr. Mahajan collaborates with neuropsychologists to evaluate the benefits of proton therapy.

Significance to patient care

Dr. Mahajan's clinical and research efforts are focused on improving outcomes and quality of life. With the use of advanced technologies, radiation can be delivered more strategically to areas of concern with a lower dose to surrounding structures. After following people for many years, she has evidence that there is less impact on cognitive function and IQ in children after proton therapy compared with other radiation techniques. In the future, Dr. Mahajan would like to help establish a standard of care and better understanding of older people with medulloblastomas. Since this is a rare disease, no studies have been done in this older population in the United States.