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Chandrika Gowda

Dr. Chandrika Gowda received her medical training in India. She went on to complete her residency training in Pediatrics at the Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, New Jersey, and fellowship training in Hematology-Oncology at the Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Dr. Gowda is currently a board certified Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist and has served as an Assistant Professor of pediatrics at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine for the past 4 years. Dr. Gowda is a physician scientist with major efforts committed toward conducting basic science and translation research in addition to treating children with various cancers. Her research is focused on targeting oncogenic signaling pathways and designing novel targeted therapies in order to treat pediatric cancers like leukemia and neuroblastoma. The main focus of her research is to understand the function of Ikaros tumor suppressor and the regulation of Ikaros activity in childhood cancers, including leukemia and neuroblastoma. She has published several research articles, reviews, and book chapters to her credit. She has also presented her work at various national and international scientific platforms and gained national recognition for her work.

1books edited

1chapters authored

Latest work with IntechOpen by Chandrika Gowda

Neuroblastoma (NBL) is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood, with about 700 new cases of neuroblastoma seen each year in the United States. The 5-year survival rate for children with high-risk NBL is only 50-60%, and this survival rate has not improved over the last 10 years. High-risk patients receive multimodality treatment, including chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, biologic therapy and immunotherapy, all of which are associated with significant morbidity. Recent years have seen many advances in treatment of neuroblastoma, including therapeutic MIBG, immunotherapy, and personalized targeted therapy based on the genetic alterations seen in the tumor. The primary objective of this book is to provide the readers with a comprehensive review of neuroblastoma, from clinical aspects and the currently available treatment to recent advancements and future directions in the field of NBL treatment. The topics and chapters have been compiled keeping in mind a diverse group of readers in different areas of specialty such as pediatric oncology, surgery, radiation oncology, and immunology, as well as physician scientists and basic researchers working in the field of neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma

Edited by Chandrika Gowda

Chapters authored

Pediatric High Risk Leukemia — Molecular Insights

By Chandrika Gowda, Olivia L. Francis, Yali Ding, Parveen Shiraz, Kimberly J. Payne and Sinisa Dovat

Acute leukemia comprises of 31% of all cancers in children making it the most common childhood malignancy. Significant strides have been made in treatment, partly through risk stratification and intensified therapy. A number of subtypes remain at high risk for relapse and poor outcome, despite current therapies. Here we describe risk stratification and molecular diagnosis used to identify high risk leukemias and guide treatment. Specific cytogenetic alterations that contribute to high risk B and T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), as well as infant leukemia are discussed. Particular attention is given to genetic alterations in IKZF1, CRLF2, and JAK, that have been identified by whole genome sequencing and recently associated with Ph-like ALL. Ongoing studies of disease mechanisms and challenges in developing pre-clinical patient-derived xenograft models to evaluate therapies are discussed.

Part of the book: Leukemias

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