Dr. Ajay Dhakal received his medical degree and completed his internship at Kathmandu Medical College in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2009. Dr. Dhakal then finished his residency at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York in 2015. He then completed a clinical fellowship at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York in 2018.

Dr. Dhakal's special interest is breast cancer. His goal is to help breast cancer patients live longer with a good quality of life. Dr. Dhakal is passionate about conducting clinical research to better understand cancer biology and to discover new ways to treat breast cancer.

In his free time, Dr. Dhakal likes to travel and watch movies.

Faculty Appointments

Assistant Professor - Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology (SMD)

Credentials

Residency & Fellowship

Fellowship, Hematology & Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. 2015 - 2018

Residency, Internal Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center. 2013 - 2015

Internship, Internal Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center. 2012 - 2013

Education

MBBS | Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital (Nepal). 2009

Awards

Best Poster, Annual Research Day. 2017

Nominated for Gerald L. Logue Memorial Travel Award. 2017 - 2018

Resident-Rock Award. 2014

Dean's List in Basic Science Final Examinations. 2005

Ministry of Education Scholarship. 2003 - 2009

Research

Clinical Trials

An Open-Label Phase II Trial of Neratinib Plus Capecitabine in Subjects With HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer With Brain Metastases and Abnormally Active HER2 Signaling

Lead Researcher: Ajay Dhakal

The purpose of this research is to look at the safety and effectiveness of a HER2-targeted therapy neratinib when given with capecitabine, a chemotherapy, for breast cancer patients with brain metastases whose tumors were HER2-negative by standard te...

The CompassHER2 Trials (Comprehensive Use of Pathologic Response Assessment to Optimize Therapy in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer) CompassHER2 Residual Disease (RD), a Double-Blinded, Phase III Randomized Trial of T-DM1 Compared With T-DM1 and Tucatinib

Lead Researcher: Ajay Dhakal

This phase III trial studies how well trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and tucatinib work in preventing breast cancer from coming back (relapsing) in patients with high risk, HER2 positive breast cancer. T-DM1 is a monoclonal antibody, called trastuzuma...

MammaPrint, BluePrint, and Full-genome Data Linked with Clinical Data to Evaluate New Gene EXpression Profiles: An Adaptable Registry (FLEX Registry)

Lead Researcher: Ajay Dhakal

The purpose of this registry is to create a large-scale, population-based database. This database will match health information to genome data to identify new gene associations in breast cancer. The study will look at Agendia Breast Cancer tests, i...

MammaPrint, BluePrint, and Full-genome Data Linked With Clinical Data to Evaluate New Gene EXpression Profiles: An Adaptable Registry (FLEX Registry)

Lead Researcher: Ajay Dhakal

The FLEX Registry will be implemented to operate as a large-scale, population based, prospective registry. All patients with stage I to III breast cancer who receive MammaPrint® and BluePrint testing on a primary breast tumor are eligible for entry i...

Publications

Journal Articles

The Rochester Modified Magee Algorithm (RoMMa): An Outcomes Based Strategy for Clinical Risk-Assessment and Risk-Stratification in ER Positive, HER2 Negative Breast Cancer Patients Being Considered for Oncotype DX® Testing.

Turner BM; Finkelman BS; Hicks DG; Numbereye N; Moisini I; Dhakal A; Skinner K; Sanders MAG; Wang X; Shayne M; Schiffhauer L; Katerji H; Zhang H.

Cancers. 2023; 3(15): 903.

A review of treatment options in HER2-low breast cancer and proposed treatment sequencing algorithm

Arya Mariam Roy; Vasanthan Muthusamy Kumarasamy; Ajay Dhakal;, Ruth O'Regan; Shipra Gandhi.

Cancer. 2023; .

Screening brain MRI in inflammatory breast cancer: Is it time?

Dhakal A, Anders CK

Cancer.. 2022 December 1128 (23):4055-4057. Epub 10/10/2022.

Systemic Therapy Approaches for Breast Cancer Brain and Leptomeningeal Metastases.

Dhakal A, Van Swearingen AED, O'Regan R, Anders CK

Current treatment options in oncology.. 2022 September 22 Epub 09/22/2022.

Systemic Therapy De-Escalation in Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Dawn of a New Era?

Gupta RK, Roy AM, Gupta A, Takabe K, Dhakal A, Opyrchal M, Kalinski P, Gandhi S

Cancers.. 2022 April 714 (8)Epub 04/07/2022.

Inflammatory breast cancer with excellent response to pembrolizumab-chemotherapy combination: A case report.

Kharel Z, Nemer OP, Xi W, Upadhayaya B, Falkson CI, O'Regan RM, Dhakal A

Breast disease.. 2022 41 (1):255-260. Epub 1900 01 01.

Erratum to: Inflammatory breast cancer with excellent response to pembrolizumab-chemotherapy combination: A case report.

Kharel Z, Nemer OP, Xi W, Upadhayaya B, Falkson CI, O'Regan RM, Dhakal A

Breast disease.. 2022 41 (1):363. Epub 1900 01 01.

PI3Kinase Inhibition in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer.

Dhakal A, Acharya L, O'Regan R, Gandhi S, Falkson C

International journal of molecular sciences.. 2021 November 222 (21)Epub 11/02/2021.

Leptomeningeal Disease as an Initial Presenting Manifestation in Breast Cancer.

Shrestha J, Shrestha A, Karki P, Dhakal A

Cure?us.. 2021 November 13 (11):e19666. Epub 11/17/2021.

Adjuvant cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibition in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: One Monarch to rule them all?

Dhakal A, Falkson C, O'Regan RM

Cancer.. 2021 May 28 Epub 05/28/2021.

Significance of HER2 in Microinvasive Breast Carcinoma.

Zhang H, Moisini I, Turner BM, Wang X, Dhakal A, Yang Q, Kovar S, Schiffhauer LM, Hicks DG

American journal of clinical pathology.. 2021 January 25 Epub 01/25/2021.

Impact of early dose intensity reduction of Palbociclib on clinical outcomes in patients with hormone-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Moftakhar B, Lekkala M, Strawderman M, Smith TC, Meacham P, Fitzgerald B, Falkson CI, Dhakal A

Breast cancer research and treatment.. 2020 July 15 Epub 07/15/2020.

Neratinib-Induced Duodenal Ulcer: A Case Report.

Moftakhar B, Kharel P, Niraula S, Gandhi S, Falkson C, Dhakal A

Breast cancer : basic and clinical research.. 2020 14 :1178223420935871. Epub 06/23/2020.

Outcome of Everolimus-Based Therapy in Hormone-Receptor-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients After Progression on Palbociclib.

Dhakal A, Antony Thomas R, Levine EG, Brufsky A, Takabe K, Hanna MG, Attwood K, Miller A, Khoury T, Early AP, Soniwala S, O'Connor T, Opyrchal M

Breast cancer : basic and clinical research.. 2020 14 :1178223420944864. Epub 07/23/2020.

Significance of the Genomic Landscape of a De Novo Endocrine-Resistant Metastatic Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer.

Sarma M, Abdou Y, Dhakal A, Gandhi S

Breast cancer : basic and clinical research.. 2020 14 :1178223420976387. Epub 12/16/2020.

Efficacy of Palbociclib Combinations in Hormone Receptor-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients After Prior Everolimus Treatment.

Dhakal A, Matthews CM, Levine EG, Salerno KE, Zhang F, Takabe K, Early AP, Edge SB, O'Connor T, Khoury T, Young JS, Opyrchal M

Clinical breast cancer.. 2018 December 18 (6):e1401-e1405. Epub 04/28/2018.

Bortezomib-Induced Pulmonary Toxicity: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Kharel P, Uprety D, Chandra AB, Hu Y, Belur AA, Dhakal A

Case reports in medicine.. 2018 2018 :2913124. Epub 11/25/2018.

A 51-Year-Old Woman With an Increasing Chest Wall Mass Years After Resection of an Early Stage Lung Cancer.

Dhakal A, Chen H, Dexter EU

Chest.. 2017 December 152 (6):e151-e154. Epub 1900 01 01.

Clinical development of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in lung cancer.

Dhakal A, Yio J, Dy GK.

Journal of Targeted Therapies in Cancer. 2017; 1.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Budhathoki N; Dhakal A; Opyrchal M.

Theranostics of Can Res. 2017; .

A Multiple Myeloma Patient Presenting with Multiple Hepatic Masses

Dhakal A; Chandra A.

Journal of Medical Cases. 2013; 4(10): 673-675.

Rituximab Monotherapy for Primary Cutaneous Follicle Center Lymphoma

Dhakal A; Tretheway DM; Fulton R; Shah B.

Journal of Advances in Internal Medicine. 2012; 1(1): 16-18.

Influence of duration of symptoms over perioperative outcomes during emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Sharma SK, Thapa PB, Maharjan DK, Dhakal A, Baral N

Kathmandu University medical journal (KUMJ).. 2009 7 (26):120-4. Epub 1900 01 01.

What about the government service?

Dhakal A, Sharma R

Kathmandu University medical journal (KUMJ).. 2008 6 (2):291-3. Epub 1900 01 01.

Books

Angel's Concise Clinical Methods, (2006)

Authors: Dhakal A, Magar A, Shrestha S, Shrestha R, Palikhey S

Publisher: Makalu Publication House, Nepal 2006