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Hari Deshpande, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology)
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Additional Titles

Clinical Research Team Leader Sarcoma, Medical Oncology

Director Medical Oncology Inpatient Consult Service, Medical Oncology

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology)

Clinical Research Team Leader Sarcoma, Medical Oncology; Director Medical Oncology Inpatient Consult Service, Medical Oncology

Biography

Dr. Hari Deshpande, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Medical Oncology, cares for patients with sarcomas along with the sarcoma multidisciplinary team.

Previously in practice at both the New London Cancer Center and Las Vegas Cancer Center, Dr. Deshpande also has clinical interests in sarcomas, cancers of unknown primary, and thyroid cancers. He is a member of the Head and Neck Cancer and GU cancer teams. He is the Director of the Medical Oncology Inpatient Consult service.

Learn more about Dr. Deshpande>>

Appointments

Education & Training

Fellow
Montefiore Medical Center (1998)
Resident
Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Jacobi Medical Center (1995)
Intern
St. James Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary (1992)
MD
Leeds University (1991)
BS
Leeds University (1988)

Research

Overview

I have been involved in research at the Yale Cancer Center since 2004. Initially, my practice included patients with GU and head and neck cancers. However, since 2010, I have mainly seen patients with sarcomas, thyroid cancer, and cancers of unknown primary. I was recently named the Disease Aligned Research Team (DART) leader for sarcoma in 2022. Sarcomas are a rare type of cancer. Of the almost 2 million new cases of cancer that we see today, sarcomas account for less than 20,000. Furthermore, they are subdivided not only in bone and soft tissue types, but also into more than 50 subtypes within these categories. This makes learning and understanding the disease more difficult as many clinicians may not see large numbers of these patients. I have been very fortunate to work at Yale which is a referral center for patients with sarcoma. My colleagues in surgical oncology treat soft tissue sarcomas involving the abdominal cavity and other sites, as well as orthopedic oncology surgeons who treat patients with bone and soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities, have national and international reputations that have brought patients to Smilow. This has allowed us to participate in clinical trials as we have the patient population you may be able to take advantage and enroll in studies of new treatment modalities.

My main focus of research is in clinical trials. These have been either investigator initiated, industry sponsored, or cooperative group. I have been fortunate to be able to work with excellent physicians and scientists in other specialties who have helped design innovative studies for our patients. One trial that I was the local principal investigator for, had a larger accrual at Yale than many other larger cancer centers. This involved patients with desmoid tumors, a rare type of soft tissue tumor that can often cause significant morbidity and is relatively unknown to many clinicians. This trial, a cooperative group study involving sorafenib, and another industry sponsored study that was open at Smilow involving nirogecastat, have shown great promise and may give patients options for treatment that do not involve major surgery. Because desmoid tumors and many sarcomas are rare cancers or tumors, these types of clinical trials require cooperation among major cancer centers around the country and around the world. It is a great honor to be involved in this type of collaboration, to work with and hear reports from colleagues in different institutions and have access to potentially new treatment options for our patients. Other rare tumors that we have had trials for include tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) and PEComas.

Another trial that accrued very well at Yale was one I participated in, in collaboration with my colleagues from endocrine surgery. This helped established a new treatment for medullary thyroid cancer vandetanib.

More recently I've been involved in trials for patients with de- differentiated liposarcoma, myxoid liposarcoma, differentiated thyroid cancer, chondrosarcoma and angiosarcoma. As the DART leader I hope to bring many other clinical trials to Yale, to help patients with both sarcoma and thyroid cancers.

The clinical trials I am involved with change frequently - I encourage interested people to view the Yale Cancer Center Clinical Trials website. http://yalecancercenter.org/patient/trials/

Sarcoma; Cancers of unknown primary; Thyroid cancer

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Chondrosarcoma; Leiomyosarcoma; Liposarcoma; Liposarcoma, Myxoid; Neoplasms, Connective and Soft Tissue; Osteosarcoma; Sarcoma, Synovial; Soft Tissue Neoplasms; Thyroid Neoplasms

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Hari Deshpande's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

2022

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    FDA

  • activity

    Exelixis Advisory Board

  • activity

    The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation

  • activity

    Blueprint Medicines Medical Strategic Council

  • activity

    Daiichi Sankyo Advisory Board

Clinical Care

Overview

Hari Deshpande, MD, is a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of patients with sarcomas and thyroid cancers and understands how frightening a cancer diagnosis can be.

“If the diagnosis is made as an inpatient, the oncology consult team will help navigate the treatment options and the different specialties involved in future care,” Dr. Deshpande says. “Similarly, sarcomas and refractory thyroid cancers are a rare type of malignancies that require specialized care. I am fortunate to work with specialized surgeons, endocrinologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, and nurses who help me make personalized treatment plans for each patient.”

Dr. Deshpande says he was drawn to oncology because of the close interaction with patients and their families, the rapidly changing field, and emergence of personalized medicine using the latest molecular techniques and treatments.

“Plus, I enjoy working with some of the world's greatest doctors at Yale. I love working at the Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital,” he adds. “My favorite part of the job is working with the excellent staff here as well as with the patients and their families.”

Dr. Deshpande participates in disease-specific tumor boards and is the principal investigator of clinical trials in sarcomas and thyroid cancers.

“The treatment of sarcomas and thyroid cancers has changed more in the last 10 years than in the previous 50 years. There is so much research and public interest in the disease, but there is still much more to be done,” he says. “The chance to be involved in finding new and effective treatments is an honor for me and one that I hope to pursue successfully at Yale.”

As the director of the Medical Oncology Inpatient Consult Service at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Dr. Deshpande is involved in the care of a variety of cancers, from the initial diagnosis to the care of patients at the end of life. “Being in the hospital is one of the most stressful events anyone can have,” he says. “Our goal is to make the experience easier for patients and their families and to improve the transition to outpatient care.”

Clinical Specialties

Medical Oncology; Sarcoma

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