Total Management of Cancer Since 1969

Research Studies

Cancer Research forms an innate part of CPAA with the major objective comprising translational community based research projects. The analysis is validated and disseminated through publications in peer reviewed national and international journals, presentation in conferences and communicating the key messages to the community. The focus of the Research team is translational research in the realm of identification of ‘Predictive Markers’ in Oral Cancer’ and ‘Cervical Cancer’, and study the psychosocial effects of cancer on patients and family members.

CPAA is uniquely positioned to understand the psychological issues that arise when a family member is diagnosed with cancer. We conduct research on appropriate topics affecting patients, parents, children and siblings. Translational research is conducted on the genetic profile of an individual susceptible to cancer or protects them against cancer in the face of faulty risk enhancing habits.

CPAA conducts systematic scientific studies of cancer related issues, such as risk factors, epidemiology and psychosocial effects on patients with cancer and their loved ones including caregivers. The studies are conducted after prior ethical approval is granted from the relevant Institutional Ethics Committees.

A. Translational Research Studies:

Project 1: Identification of ‘Predictive Biomarkers’ and Virtual Screening of ‘Small Drug- like Molecules’ targeted to Oral Cancer.

  • Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath, Dr. Sultan Pradhan Dr.s Hetal Damani, Dr. Wendy D’Souza, Dr. Shaleen Multani, Dr. Subuhi Yete
  • Oral cancer is a high incidence cancer in India, constituting 34% of the global oral cancer burden. The major risk factors are tobacco/areca nut, alcohol and high risk Human Papilloma Virus; contributing 90% of the attributable risk to the cancer. However about 5-10% individuals with high risk life style develop oral cancer. Thus individual genomic variants may be used to identify individuals with high risk of developing oral cancer. The team investigated genomic variants represented as single nucleotide polymorphisms in long term tobacco habitués with and without oral cancer. The team also used an in silico approach to identify inhibitors for five prototype proteins deregulated in cancer, using the Maybridge HitFinderTM, AnalytiCon NATx and AnalytiCon MEGx libraries using the Schrödinger chemical simulation software to identify small molecule inhibitors targeted to the deregulated proteins, with pharmacokinetic profiles predicting ‘drug-likeness’ of the compounds.

    • Project 2: Development of HPV Screening Protocol as a part of CPAA’s Early Detection Programme

  • Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath, Bhavna Sharma, Neeta More
  • High risk Human Papilloma Virus (HR-HPV) detection protocol using State-of-the-art Hybrid Capture 2 System for detecting and typing of HPV types by PCR and nucleotide sequencing to indicate risk of cervical cancer. About 10,000 women in cancer screening camps were screened. The data defined 6.8% women HR-HPV positive, and 3% positive for low risk HPVs. A follow-up and counseling in HPV positive women is an on-going process.
    • B. Psychosocial Projects: To Study the Psychosocial Effect of Cancer On Patients And Family Members

    RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS: (2012 – 2022)

    Clinical Implications of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Oral Cancer
  • 2022: Hetal Damani Shah and Dhananjaya Saranath
  • Modern Research Dentistry, Published: June 03, 2022 Volume 7 – Issue 2

    • Oral cancer is a high incidence cancer with well-established risk factors including tobacco, alcohol, areca nut, and HR-HPV 16/18. Additional risk factors such as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with genetic susceptibility, disease progression and prognosis. A comprehensive review of clinically relevant SNPs is synopsized in the current article.

    Cervical Cancer in India: Prevention and Control
  • 2022: Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath
  • SCRIBE, Annual Science Journal, Sophia College (Autonomous), Mumbai | Volume 3, 2022

    • Cervical cancer ranks as the second most common cancer in females in India with 123,992 new cases annually, and 77,348 deaths (25% of global burden). Every 7-8 minute a woman in India dies due to the cancer. Cervical Cancer is caused by High-Risk Human Papilloma Virus (HR-HPV) and is preventable by simple means of HPV vaccination.

    Transforming Growth Factor Beta Receptor 2 SNP association with oral cancer and in silico identification of small drug-like molecules as TGFβRII inhibitors.
  • 2019: Shaleen Multani, Hetal Damani, Dhananjaya Saranath
  • J Biomedical Research,6(1), 25-33, 2019
    • Expression of ppsD, a gene involved in synthesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence factor PDIM, reflects treatment response in pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
  • Kalpana Sriraman, Rupali Kekane, Daksha Shah, Dhananjaya Saranath, Nerges Mistry
  • bio Rxiv (Online), 2019 | 470 – 476. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/576
    • Perceived Risk, Anxiety and Alexithymia in Sisters of Breast Cancer Patients
  • 2018: Veena Mishra and Dhananjaya Saranath
  • Journal Womens Health, Issues7 Care 2018, 7:2. DOI: 10.4172/2325-9795.1000303
    • In-silico Identification of Small Molecules Targeting H-Ras and In-vitro Cytotoxicity with Caspase-Mediated Apoptosis in Carcinoma Cells
  • 2018: Hetal Damani, Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath, Soma Das, Prashant S. Kharkar, Anjali A. Karande
  • 2018. J. of Cellular Biochemistry, pp 1 – 12
    • Antibiotic resistance characterization of environmental E. coli isolated from river Mula-Mutha, Pune district, India.
  • 2018: Rutuja Dhawde, Ragini Macaden, Dhananjaya Saranath, Kayzad Nilgiriwala, Appasaheb Ghadge, Tannaz Birdi
  • International J. Research and Public Health, 15, 1247-1262, 2018 |doi:10.3390/ijerph15061247
    • High-Risk Human Papillomavirus in Oral Cancer: Clinical Implications.
  • Subuhi Yete, Wendy D’Souza, Dhananjaya Saranath Oncology, 94(3), 133 – 141, 2018.
    • OMICS, Oral Cancer Molecular Landscapes, and Clinical Practice
  • 2017: Wendy D’Souza and Dhananjaya Saranath
  • OMICS A Journal of Integrative Biology, 21 (12), doi: 10.1089/omi.2017.0146
    • Single nucleotide polymorphisms in an Indian cohort and association of CNTN4, MMP2 and SNTB1 variants with oral cancer.
  • 2017: Subuhi Yete, Sultan Pradhan, Dhananjaya Saranath
  • Cancer Genetics, 214-215, 16-25.
    • Synthesis and characterization of gold conjugated Back housia citriodora nanoparticles and their anticancer activity against MCF-7 breast and HepG2 liver cancer cell lines.
  • 2017: Roshanak Khandanlou, Vinuthaa Murthy, Dhananjaya Saranath & Hetal Damani
  • J Mater Sci DOI 10.1007/s10853-017-1756-4
    • Study of drug resistance in relapsed and new cases of Leprosy in select rural and urban areas of Maharashtra using PCR and Mouse Footpad Assay
  • 2017: Vanaja P. Shetty, Dhananjaya Saranath, Anju R. Dighe, Shubhada Pandya, Vivek Vasudev
  • International J Scientific and Research Publications, 8, 398-406, 2017.
    • Whole genome sequencing of clinical strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Mumbai, India: A potential tool for determining drug-resistance and strain lineage.
  • 2017: Anirvan Chatterjee, Kayzad Nilgiriwala, Dhananjaya Saranath, Camilla Rodrigues, Nerges Mistry
  • Tuberculosis, 107, 63-72, 2017.
    • Deregulation of Genes Associated with Alternate Drug Resistance Mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
  • 2017: Kalpana Sriraman, Kayzad Nilgiriwala, Dhananjaya Saranath, Anirvan Chatterjee, Nerges Mistry Current Microbiology, 75, 394 – 400, 2017
  • https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-017-1393-9
    • Synthesis and characterization of gold conjugated Back housia citriodora nanoparticles and their anticancer activity against MCF-7 breast and HepG2 liver cancer cell lines.
  • 2017:Roshanak Khandanlou, Vinuthaa Murthy, Dhananjaya Saranath and Hetal Damani
  • J Mater Sci | doi: 10.1007/s10853-017-1756-4
    • Whole genome expression profile in chewing-tobacco-associated oral cancers: a pilot study. Medical Oncology
  • 2015: Sanjukta Chakrabarti, Shaleen Multani, Jyoti Dabholkar, Dhananjaya Saranath
  • doi: 10.1007/s12032-015-0483-4 , 32:60-71, 2015.
    • Editorial: Current status of cancer burden : Global and Indian Scenario

    2014: Dhananjaya Saranath and Aparna Khanna | Biomedical Research Journal, 1 (1), 2014.

    Biomedical Research Journal
  • 2014: Editors–in-Chief: Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath & Dr. Aparna Khanna
  • April Issue Volume 1, Issue 1, pp1-85, 2014.
    • Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell ABCA1 Transcripts and Protein Expression in Acute Myocardial Infarction.
  • 2014: Kavita Shalia, Dhananjaya Saranath, V K Shah | Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis, 1-8, 2014
    • Global transcriptional profiling of longitudinal clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis exhibiting rapid accumulation of drug resistance.
  • 2013: Anirvan Chatterjee, Purva Bhater, Dhananjaya Saranath, Nerges Mistry
  • PLoS One, 8 (1), 1-8, 2013 | doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054717.
    • Perception of young adults toward hookah use in Mumbai
  • Karnik Dani K, Oswal K, Maudgal S, Saranath D Indian Journal Cancer 2013
    • Assessing long-term motivation of trained volunteers of a psycho-oncology workshop.
  • 2013: Asawari Gupta, Dhananjaya Saranath The National Medical J India, 26(3) 184-185, 2013
    • Single-cell polymerase chain reaction-based pre-implantation genetic diagnosis using fragment analysis for β-thalassemia in an Indian couple with β-globin gene mutations
  • 2012: Shailaja Gada Saxena, Dhananjaya Saranath
  • J Human Reproductive Sciences, 5 (3), 289-292, 2012.
    • Chromosomal aberrations in 2000 couples of Indian ethnicity with reproductive failure.
  • 2012: S. Gada-Saxena, K. Desai, L. Shewale, P. Ranjan, D Saranath
  • Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 25(2), 209 – 218, 2012.
    • BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutations and BRCA1 haplotypes in early onset breast cancer patients of Indian ethnicity.
  • 2012: Abida Juwle, Dhananjaya Saranath
  • Medical Oncology, 29, 3272-3281, 2012 | doi: information: 10.1007/s12032-012-0294-9
    • Genome-wide disease association study in chewing tobacco associated oral cancers
  • 2012: Renu Bhatnagar, Jyoti Dabholkar, Dhananjaya Saranath
  • Oral Oncology, 2012, 48 (9): 831-835, 2012 | DOI information: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2012.03.007
    • Uncoupling Protein- 2 (UCP 2) gene expression in subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue of Asian Indians: Relationship to adiponectin and parameters of metabolic syndrome.
  • 2012: Mahadik SR, Lele RD, Saranath D, Seth A, Parikh V
  • Adipocyte 1(2): 101-1072, 2012.
    • EBV and lymphomas
  • 2012:Chandralekha Tampi and Dhananjaya Saranath(Invited Chapter) In: Haematology Today. Eds.
  • MB Agarwal& SA Rathi, Publ by MB Agarwal, Mumbai, India, pp 469-479, 2012
    • Hospital based prevalence study of trinucleotide repeat Spinocerebellar Ataxias: Experience of a tertiary Care Centre in Western India.
  • 2012: Satish Khadilkar, Rajesh Dabhi, Pramod Dhonde, Nilesh Nadkarni, Smita Kulkarni, Dhananjaya Saranath
  • Neurology Asia, 17(3), 213-217, 2012.
    • VKORC1 and CYP2C9 Gene Polymorphisms and its Effect on Warfarin Response
  • Kavita2012: Kavita Shalia, S M Doshi, S Parikh, P P Pawar, S S Divekar, S P Verma, R Mehta, T Doctor, V K Shah, Dhananjaya Saranath J Ass .Physicians India, 60, 34-38., 2012
    • ABSTRACTS AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS:
    Association between demographic features and perceived social support in the mental adjustment to breast cancer.
  • Dr. Veena Shukla Mishra, Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath. Psycho-oncology, 28(3), 629-634, 2019
    • Assessment of coping in hematological childhood cancer patients.
  • Mallika Narayan , Veena Shukla Mishra, Dhananjaya Saranath.
  • Presented at in 2019 Kochi conference on Palliative care | Paper Awarded 2nd Prize.
    • Understanding the Experiences of Breast Cancer Patients in Seoul, South Korea-Patient Reported Outcome Study
  • Maudgal S, Han W | 44th Annual Meeting of Korean Cancer Association and 4th International Cancer Conference, Seoul-21st – 22nd June, 2018
    • Alexithymia in Breast Cancer Patients and Their Sisters in Seoul
  • Maudgal S, Han W, e-Poster presentation | UICC World Cancer Congress, Kuala Lumpur-1st-4th October, 2018
    • Patient Engagement for Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients-Whats App Counseling
  • Maudgal S, e-Poster presentation | UICC World Cancer Congress, Kuala Lumpur-1st-4th October, 2018
    • Perceived risk, anxiety and Alexithymia in sisters of breast cancer patients.
  • Dr. Veena Shukla Mishra and Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath.
  • Presented at UICC 2018 conference, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.
    • Assessing the quality of life among caregivers of patients with hematological cancer.
  • Dr. Veena Shukla Mishra and Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath.
  • Presented at UICC 2018 conference, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. 16 participant
    • Challenges in India About Breast Cancer and Breast Reconstruction:
  • Methil B, Maudgal S, CANREHAB 2017 | Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai-7th-9th April, 2017
    • Knowledge and attitude towards cervical cancer screening among women in Mumbai, India.
  • Ms. Masara Shameem, Dr. Veena Shukla Mishra and Dr. Dhananjaya Saranath (Study Completed), 2014
    • Alexithymia in children with cancer and their siblings
  • Veena Shukla Mishra, Shubha Maudgal, Stephanie C.P.M. Theunissen, Carolien Rieffe
  • Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 72 , 266–268, 2012

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