Indian-American oncologist Rachna Shroff, an internationally recognized expert in bile duct cancer and a senior physician-scientist at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, has died at the age of 47, the university announced. She lived with cancer that limited her life expectancy, although the university did not reveal the precise cause of her death.
Dr. Shroff served as Associate Director of Clinical Investigations at the Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. She was also the first John F. and Valli S. Duval Endowed Professor of Gastrointestinal Oncology and associate dean for clinical and translational research.
Widely respected for her work on cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile ducts, Dr. Shroff helped advance treatment options for a disease that historically had few effective therapies. She is the author of more than 80 scientific publications and has given more than 130 professional presentations during her career.
Even while battling cancer herself, Dr. Shroff continued to advocate for research into the disease. In September, she launched the Conquer Cancer-Rachna Shroff FASCO Endowed Young Investigator Award in Biliary Cancers and helped raise more than $1.35 million in a matter of weeks to support future research and innovation.
The University of Arizona Cancer Center described her as “an internationally renowned clinician-scientist, mentor and leader whose work has reshaped the field of gastrointestinal oncology.”
Raised in Tucson by a biochemist father and a nephrologist mother, Dr. Shroff developed an early interest in cancer research. As a high school student, she received the Osler Scholarship in 1993, which allowed her to work in a laboratory at the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
After completing her undergraduate studies at Brown University and earning her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University, she began a fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2010. She remained on the MD Anderson faculty until 2018, when she returned to Tucson to join the University of Arizona.
His research has focused on cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and other hepatobiliary malignancies. She has led numerous clinical trials that have helped advance treatment strategies for biliary cancers and has achieved national recognition for her contributions to gastrointestinal oncology.
Dr. Shroff also served as co-chair of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Hepatobiliary Subcommittee and chaired GI ASCO 2024, a major gastrointestinal cancer conference hosted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Returning to Arizona in 2018, she created and expanded the gastrointestinal oncology program at the cancer center, while working to improve patient access to clinical trials in southern Arizona. His research focused on novel drug therapies and immunological approaches to treat difficult-to-treat cancers.
In its tribute, the university said that beyond her professional achievements, Dr Shroff most cherished her roles as a wife, mother and friend.
She is survived by her husband, Puneet Shroff, a physician and professor of medicine; their children, Simran Shroff and Sachin Shroff; his parents, Devendar Trivedi and Amita Trivedi; and his sister, Neema Sahni.
Gn Health
