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INFORMATION FOR

Prasanna Ananth, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Hematology/Oncology)

Research Summary

Dr. Ananth's research focuses on investigating ways to optimize supportive and palliative care for children with advanced cancer. Prior work explored how children with chronic, life-threatening illness utilize hospital resources in the last year of life; pediatric palliative care mitigates hospital use; enrollment in early phase clinical trials influences end-of-life care; and how providers, patients, and families perceive medical marijuana in pediatric oncology practice. Her ongoing work seeks to define attributes of high quality care for children with advanced cancer.

Extensive Research Description

Dr. Ananth's primary research agenda is to investigate mechanisms of optimizing supportive and palliative care for children with advanced cancer. Among adults with cancer, intense end-of-life care is defined by metrics such as hospitalizations in the last weeks of life and delayed hospice referral. No comparable quality measures exist for children with advanced cancer. In a published multi-center study, Dr. Ananth and her colleagues previously identified that children with cancer spend a substantial proportion of their last year of life admitted to the hospital, receiving interventions such as surgeries or mechanical ventilation. In two subsequent studies, they found that pediatric palliative care consultation may have a measurable impact on reducing hospital resource use and that enrollment in early phase clinical trials may influence timing of palliative care engagement. This has yielded her current research, in which she is developing patient- and family-centered, provider-informed quality measures that can be used to assess end-of-life care and develop prospective interventions.

Coauthors

Research Interests

Medical Oncology; Palliative Care; Pediatrics; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; Medical Marijuana

Selected Publications

Clinical Trials

ConditionsStudy Title
Brain and Nervous SystemA Phase 3 Randomized Non-Inferiority Study of Carboplatin and Vincristine Versus Selumetinib (NSC# 748727) in Newly Diagnosed or Previously Untreated Low-Grade Glioma (LGG) Not Associated With BRAFV600E Mutations or Systemic Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1)
PediatricsA Phase 3 Randomized Trial for Patients With De Novo AML Comparing Standard Therapy Including Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin (GO) to CPX-351 With GO, and the Addition of the FLT3 Inhibitor Gilteritinib for Patients With FLT3 Mutations
PediatricsPrOspective Non-interventional Study in Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic TRK Fusion Cancer Treated With Larotrectinib
Supportive Care; Pediatrics; PreventionStepByStep: A Randomized Trial of a Mobile Health and Social Media Physical Activity Intervention Among Adolescent and Young Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors
Brain and Nervous System; PediatricsA Target Validation/Phase1 Study of BGB-290 in Combination With Temozolomide in Adolescent and Young Adult IDH1/2 Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent Mutant Gliomas
Brain and Nervous System; PediatricsA Phase 2 Study of Dabrafenib (NSC# 763760) With Trametinib (NSC# 763093) After Local Irradiation in Newly-Diagnosed BRAF V600-Mutant High-Grade Glioma (HGG)
Leukemia, not otherwise specified; Leukemia, other; PediatricsA Phase 3 Randomized Trial of Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (NSC#: 772518) for Newly Diagnosed High-Risk B-ALL; Risk-Adapted Post-Induction Therapy for High-Risk B-ALL, Mixed Phenotype Acute Leukemia, and Disseminated B-LLy
PediatricsA Phase 2 Randomized Study of Irinotecan/Temozolomide/Dinutuximab With or Without Eflornithine (DFMO) in Children With Relapsed, Refractory or Progressive Neuroblastoma
LiverPediatric Hepatic Malignancy International Therapeutic Trial (PHITT)
Leukemia, not otherwise specified; Leukemia, otherA Phase IB/II Study of Venetoclax (ABT-199) in Combination With Liposomal Vincristine in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory T-Cell or B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Brain and Nervous SystemA Phase 3 Study of 131I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) or Crizotinib Added to Intensive Therapy for Children With Newly Diagnosed High-Risk Neuroblastoma (NBL)
Bones and Joints; Kidney; Soft Tissue; PediatricsPhase 3 Accelerated BEP: A Randomised Phase 3 Trial of Accelerated Versus Standard BEP Chemotherapy for Patients With Intermediate and Poor-risk Metastatic Germ Cell Tumors
Bones and Joints; Brain and Nervous System; Leukemia, not otherwise specified; Leukemia, other; Lymphoid LeukemiaNCI-COG Pediatric MATCH (Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice) Screening Protocol
Soft TissueA Phase 2 Study of Anti-PD-L1 Antibody (Atezolizumab) in Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma
Other Male Genital; OvaryActive Surveillance, Bleomycin, Carboplatin, Etoposide, or Cisplatin in Treating Pediatric and Adult Patients With Germ Cell Tumors
Bones and Joints; Brain and Nervous System; Eye and Orbit; Hodgkin's Lymphoma; Kidney; Leukemia, other; Liver; Lymphoid Leukemia; Myeloid and Monocytic Leukemia; Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma; Other Digestive Organ; Other Endocrine System; Other Female Genital; Other Male Genital; Other Respiratory and Intrathoracic Organs; Other Skin; Other Urinary; Ovary; Small Intestine; Soft Tissue; PediatricsThe Project: Every Child Protocol: A Registry, Eligibility Screening, Biology and Outcome Study
Other Respiratory and Intrathoracic Organs; PediatricsEffects of Dexrazoxane Hydrochloride on Biomarkers Associated With Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure After Cancer Treatment (HEART)
Brain and Nervous System; PediatricsResponse and Biology-Based Risk Factor-Guided Therapy in Treating Younger Patients With Non-high Risk Neuroblastoma
Brain and Nervous System; PediatricsBiomarkers in Tumor Tissue Samples From Patients With Newly Diagnosed Neuroblastoma or Ganglioneuroblastoma
Lymphoid Leukemia; PediatricsNeuropsychological and Behavioral Testing in Younger Patients With Cancer