Dr. Viraj Lavingia

Dr. Viraj Lavingia is a Medical Oncologist and Director, Oncosciences at Shalby Group of Hospitals, Ahmedabad. He specialises in gastrointestinal cancers, including colorectal, pancreatic, and hepatobiliary malignancies.

As Head of the Department of Oncology at Shalby Hospitals, he works on integrating newer therapies into routine clinical practice to improve patient care. He is involved in clinical research and has contributed to national and international publications in precision oncology, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies. Dr. Lavingia follows a multidisciplinary, patient-focused approach, offering evidence-based and personalised treatment.

• Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad – DNB Medical Oncology – 2017
• Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai – DNB Internal Medicine – 2013
• Smt. NHL Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad – MBBS – 2007

Certifications & Courses

• UICC (ICRETT) Fellow, City of Hope, Duarte, USA (June 2016) – Awarded scholarship for a project on Hepatic Arterial Infusion (HAI) chemotherapy for liver-limited metastatic colorectal cancer
• ESMO Certified (September 2015)
• ASCO In-Training Examination (February 2015)
• COPE (WIA, Chennai) – ISMPO Medal Examination (2017)

• Director – Oncosciences | Head of Department, Medical Oncology – Shalby Group of Hospitals, Ahmedabad
• Director – GI Medical Oncology & Administrative Head – HCG Cancer Centre, Ahmedabad (April 2022 – September 2023)
• Consultant Medical Oncologist (Gastrointestinal Services) – HCG Cancer Centre, Ahmedabad (May 2018 – March 2022)
• Consultant Medical Oncologist – Apollo CBCC & Apollo Hospital, Ahmedabad (November 2017 – May 2018)
• DNB fellow, Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad, July 2014 to June 2017
• Senior Registrar, Medical Oncology, Fortis, Mumbai, December 2013 to June 2014
• DNB scholar, Internal Medicine, Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai, February 2009 to February 2012
• Medical Officer, Hemato-Oncology, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, June 2008- January 2009

• Dr. Viraj won a scholarship award (UICC fellowship from City of Hope, Duarte, USA, June 2016) for the project “HAI (Hepatic Arterial Infusion) chemotherapy for liver-limited metastatic colorectal cancer”.
• Published numerous research articles in leading journals such as the Journal of Surgical Oncology, Frontiers in Oncology, and JCO Global Oncology.Contributed editorials and review articles to prominent journals, including the Indian Journal of Cancer and the International Journal of Medical and Pediatric Oncology (IJMPO).
• Presented at national and international oncology conferences, sharing expertise in GI malignancies and innovative treatment strategies.
• Recognised for managing challenging cases like advanced biliary tract cancers, metastatic colorectal cancer, and unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

• ASCO – American Society of Clinical Oncology
• ESMO – European Society for Medical Oncology
• NANETS – North American Neuroendocrine Tumour Society
• IHPBA – International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association
• INASL – Indian National Association for Study of the Liver
• ISMPO – Indian Society of Medical & Paediatric Oncology
• IJMPO – Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology (Associate Editor – GI Cancers)

• Gastrointestinal Oncology (Colorectal, Pancreatic, Hepatobiliary cancers)
• Precision Oncology & Genomics
• Immunotherapy & Targeted Therapy
• Chemotherapy & Systemic Cancer Treatment
• Management of Advanced & Metastatic Cancers
• Multidisciplinary Cancer Care (MDT approach)
• Clinical Trials & Early-Phase Drug Development
• Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) & ctDNA-based Testing
• Personalised Cancer Treatment Planning
• Supportive & Palliative Oncology Care

• Indian Consensus Guidelines for the Management of Pancreatic Cancer – IJMPO Sept 2025; DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1811946
• Consensus Statements for Clinical Practice in Advanced/Metastatic Colorectal Cancers in India Using a Modified Delphi Method – SAJC 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0045-1809380
• Real-world evidence of a tissue-free ctDNA-based minimal residual disease (MRD) testing in colorectal cancer (CRC): Insights from an Indian cohort – Annals of Oncology, July 2025
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) / microsatellite instability (MSI) non-colorectal cancers: Real World Indian data and the use of alternative dosing – Meeting Abstract: 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium
• Current Issues of Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Circulating Tumour DNA Analysis in Colorectal Cancer – South Asian J Cancer 2024; 13(04): 241-245; DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1801755
• Gemcitabine Cisplatin, and Durvalumab Experience in Advanced Biliary Tract Cancers: A Real-World, Multicentric Data from India – JCO Glob Oncol. 2024 Dec:10:e2400216; doi: 10.1200/GO.24.00216
• Utilisation of tissue-free minimal residual disease testing in colorectal cancer patients from Asia and the Middle East – Front. Oncol., 20 September 2024; DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1426941
• Evaluation and Management of Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Multidisciplinary Indian Consensus Statements from a Delphi Panel – SAJC 2024 July; DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1788569
• Adjuvant therapy may improve overall survival in high-risk periampullary adenocarcinoma patients – A match-pair analysis from a multi institutional cohort study (The MIPPAP study) – HPB (Oxford). 2024 July; doi: 10.1016/j.hpb.2024.06.010
• Systemic therapy for Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours – Indian J Surg Oncol 2024 May; doi: 10.1007/s13193-024-01908-y
• To be or not to be – J Psychosoc Oncol. 2024 Mar 19:1-3; doi: 10.1080/07347332.2024.2330418
• Localised Rectal Cancer: Indian Consensus and Guidelines – IJMPO Feb 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1777865.2
• The Immune System’s Echo: The Phenomenon of Delayed Neurological Immune-Related Adverse Events (NIRAEs) in Adjuvant Immunotherapy – Cureus 15(9): e44529, September 2023; doi: 10.7759/cureus.44529
• Practice Patterns and Survival in Patients with Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas (PDAC) – Results from the Multicentre Indian Pancreatic & Periampullary Adenocarcinoma Project (MIPPAP) Study – Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, June 2023; doi: 10.1007/s12029-023-00936-1
• HER2 ‘neu’ promise for mCRC – Review article in International Journal of Molecular and Immuno Oncology, February 2023; doi: 10.25259/IJMIO_30_2022
• Addition of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressed metastatic carcinoma of the Gallbladder patient to enhance survival: A case study – SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2022 Nov 27;10:2050313X221137447; doi: 10.1177/2050313X221137447
• Time for colorectal cancer screening in India! – Editorial in Indian Journal of Cancer, July 2021; doi: 10.4103/ijc.ijc_918_21
• Systemic Treatment for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in the Era of Precision Medicine – Review article in Journal of Surgical Oncology, April 2019; doi: 10.1002/jso.25421
• Impressive response to dual mutant intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma – Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, December 2016; doi: 10.21037/jgo.2016.09.13
• Pulmonary artery thrombosis mimicking disease progression in metastatic renal cell carcinoma while on sunitinib – Indian J Cancer 2016; doi: 10.4103/0019-509X.180852
• PRES, the most uncommon side effect of one of the commonest chemotherapy regimens, FOLFOX – Apollo Medicine March 2015; doi: 10.1016/j.apme.2015.02.002
• Book chapter – Recent clinical trials in gastric cancer, in the book “Update in Oncology for Physicians 2024”

Clinical Trials & Research Experience

• Principal Investigator for early-phase and first-in-human clinical trials in gastrointestinal and advanced cancers
• Involved in global multi-centre trials evaluating immunotherapy and targeted therapies
• Experience in biosimilar and checkpoint inhibitor studies
• Co-investigator in multiple national and international clinical trials