Anurag Agrawal, MD
Vice President, Global Cancer Support, American Cancer Society
Attending Oncologist, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland

Dr. Anurag K. Agrawal is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and bone marrow transplant physician. He recently joined the American Cancer Society to oversee ACS’ global patient support programs which span the cancer continuum from cancer prevention/screening to patient support (patient education, patient navigation) to healthcare provider support and health systems strengthening. He has a long history of global work. Most recently he was involved with the development of Southeast Asian Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (SEAPHO) in 2016, which is focused on strategic initiatives to improve pediatric cancer outcomes in Vietnam including initiating a 2-year master’s level training program there since 2018 which now spans all regions of the country. Prior to that, he was Medical Director of Paediatric Hematology/Oncology in Gaborone, Botswana as part of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center from 2011-2012 and a Pediatric AIDS Corps Physician as part of the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Maseru, Lesotho from 2007-2008.

While full-time at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital from 2014-2024, he developed and directed the early phase and cellular therapies programs with special interests in integrative oncology, supportive care, pain management, and health disparities in addition to global health. He developed an integrative hematology-oncology program which includes massage, acupuncture/acupressure, aromatherapy and immersive virtual reality, available to patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Dr. Agrawal was involved with multiple research projects on supportive care, pain management, disparities in access to care, treatment side effects and outcomes for underrepresented minority and low-income populations, with the goal of learning how best to address these gaps. In addition, he studied cellular therapies such as CAR-T therapy as part of his role in the early phase and cellular therapies program.

He can be reached at:
[email protected]
www.linkin.com/in/anu-k-agrawal
[email protected]

Relevant Publications and Media

Peer Reviewed
1. Garcia-Prats AJ, Draper HR, Sanders JE, Agrawal AK, Mohapi EQ, Schutze GE. False negative post-18 month confirmatory HIV tests in HIV DNA PCR positive children: a retrospective analysis from Lesotho. AIDS 2012;26:1927-1934.
2. Anglemyer A, Agrawal AK, Rutherford GW. Treatment of Kaposi sarcoma in children with HIV-1 infection. Cochrane Sys Database Rev 2014;1:CD009826.
3. Reddy-Holdcraft S, Mehta PS, Agrawal AK. Paclitaxel for relapsed or recurrent HIV-associated pediatric Kaposi sarcoma [correspondence]. AIDS 2014;28:800-802.
4. El-Mallawany NK, Kamiyango W, Villiera J et al. Proposal of a risk-stratification platform to address distinct clinical features of pediatric Kaposi sarcoma in Lilongwe, Malawi. J Glob Oncol 2018:1-7. doi: 10.1200/JGO.17.00054
5. Slone J, Slone A, Oaitse W et al. Advancing pediatric oncology in Botswana: a report from the Botswana Pediatric Oncology Database. J Glob Oncol 2018;4:1-9;doi: 10.1200/JGO.17.00095
6. Hall AG, Winestone LE,…Agrawal AK. Access to chimeric antigen receptor T cell clinical trials in underrepresented populations: a multicenter cohort study of pediatric and young adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients. Transplant Cell Ther 2023;S2666-6367
7. Evans EM, Lin J, Sanchez-Alvarez J, Agrawal AK, Winestone LE. Disparities in household material hardship, financial toxicity, and income loss in pediatric cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2023;e30496
8. Levine A,…Agrawal AK, Bogetz JF. Barriers to pediatric palliative care: trainee and faculty perspectives across two academic centers. J Palliat Med 2023;26:1348-1356
9. Lin JJ,…Agrawal AK, Winestone LE. Financial assistance and other financial coping strategies after a pediatric cancer diagnosis. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2024;e30890
10. Hall AG,…Agrawal AK, Marron JM. Perspectives of pediatric oncologists on referral for CAR-T therapy: a mixed methods pilot study. JNCI Cancer Spectrum [in press]

Non-Peer Reviewed
1. Clinical Practice Guidelines: Lesotho Center of Excellence, 3rd edition. Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. Hematology and Oncology Guidelines. May 2012
2. Policy on Pain Management in Paediatric Patients. Princess Marina Hospital. Gaborone, Boswana. 2012
3. Guidelines on the treatment of skin and oral HIV-associated conditions in children and adults. World Health Organization (WHO) 2014

Media
Cell Therapy Next 3/31/22 Lack of awareness, limited sites hinder CAR-T trials for younger patients with cancer (healio.com)
https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20220331/lack-of-awareness-limited-sites-hinder-cart-trials-for-younger-patients-with-cancer