Dr. (Prof.) Jyoti Bajpai is a Medical and Precision Oncologist is extremely keen to improve Precision and Immunotherapy-based, individualized care in India and globally. She is currently working as the Clinical Director-Precision, Immuno-Oncology & Research (West Region), Medical Oncology (Maharashtra), at Apollo groups of Hospitals, Navi Mumbai. She is having more than 30 years of extensive experience in the field and 21 years of oncology experience inclusive of her immediate prior affiliation as the Professor of Medical Oncology, Sarcoma Lead and Breast DMG Convener at Tata Memorial Centre, the leading tertiary care university hospital in South Asia, for ~15 years.
Her oncology training involves leading institutes in India and abroad including All India Institute of Medical sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC), NY, Johns Hopkins Cancer Center, Maryland, University of Chicago, USA and she is an ESMO Leader’s generation programme graduate.
She is an avid multitasker and is representing country in reputed international societies as a core member in society of immunotherapy of cancer (SITC) global access and impact committee member, as well as Founder Chair of Women for Oncology (W4O) India and SAARC, ESMO-Immunotherapy and Sarcoma track faculty (in recent past) and Asia Co-Chair & Core Member of the Global Access & Impact Committee of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC).
She was pivotal in several initiatives in the Country and SAARC region inclusive of, pioneering the Indian Immuno-Oncology Society of India (Founder & General Secretary), Precision Oncology core member, and Joint Secretory of Indian Society of Medical & Pediatric Oncology (ISMPO), and Women in oncology (W4O) India and SAARC nations (Founder Chair).
She is an important contributor towards development of prestigious international guidelines for ESMO, SITC, ABC, and ESMO-PAGA, guidelines for breast cancer, sarcoma and Immunotherapy. Her other research work includes international and national publications (~200) in the field of Immuno-oncology, Supportive care, Rare cancers (sarcomas, pregnancy associated cancers), building low-cost efficacious protocols for low– middle income countries, breast and gynecological cancers, and gender equality. Besides, she is having a rich experience to be in editorial and reviewers’ boards of international and national Journals, Primary investigator of a good number of randomized trials and mentoring students from institutional, national and international forums.
Some of her practice-changing original work includes a randomized phase III trial evaluating low-dose versus standard-dose olanzapine in combination with standard triple antiemetic therapy for the prevention of highly emetogenic chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with osteosarcoma and other solid tumors (OLANZAPINE trial). The landmark results were presented at SABCS 2023 & published in the high-impact journal The Lancet Oncology and have been widely adopted globally in January 2024 including in NCCN guidelines.
- Bajpai J, Kapu V, Rath S et al. Low-dose versus standard-dose olanzapine with triple antiemetic therapy for prevention of highly emetogenic chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients with solid tumours: a single-centre, open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial. The Lancet Oncology. 2024;25(2):246-254.
She has also pioneered research addressing quality-of-life challenges in cancer therapy, particularly in young patients where body image and treatment-related toxicities significantly influence treatment adherence. Recognizing the profound psychological impact of chemotherapy-induced alopecia, she led the first randomized controlled trial in India evaluating scalp cooling for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The study demonstrated efficacy comparable to international data and established scalp cooling as a standard supportive care practice in several oncology centers across the country. The results were published in the high-impact journal.
- Bajpai J et al. Randomised controlled trial of scalp cooling for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The Breast. 2020;49:187-193.
Further expanding supportive care research, she is also leading a Phase III randomized controlled trial evaluating acupuncture as a therapeutic modality for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer (ABC-CIPN) an area of major unmet need in oncology survivorship.
Through these efforts, her work integrates cutting-edge oncologic research with patient-centered supportive care, significantly advancing both clinical outcomes and survivorship quality for young patients with cancer.
With a strong focus on Young breast cancer (YBC) and Pregnancy-Associated Breast Cancer (PABC), and Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), she is committed to improve oncologic outcomes but also rehabilitating these young patients to ensure quality survivorship. Recognizing gaps in epidemiology and care, she initiated a national PABC registry, generating impactful data that has improved patient care. She is also a passionate advocate for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) oncology, working with global organizations like ESMO, CTOS, EORTC, to establish a dedicated AYA care path in India. She is co- chair for Model development in the Lancet commission for AYA care, and ARIA guidelines, received, the Best Poster Award and oral presentation at Sarcoma of the year session, at CTOS 2022 and delivered plenary lecture at the Global AYA Congress 2024 at Australia.
She is trying hard to work towards improving precision and advanced cancer care and enhanced supportive care & QOL with cancer therapy and workforce equity in the country as well as globally with her association to relevant organizations and her research work. She is always ready to learn new things and extremely open to connect to various stakeholders across geographic boundaries and exceptionally good in building and maintaining teams.
