Updated October 15, 2026, 12:39 p.m. ET
Dr. Rachna Shroff, a cancer researcher who was diagnosed with her own aggressive form of the disease, has died. She was 47 years old.
The University of Arizona, where Shroff was associate director of clinical investigations at the U of A Cancer Center and chief of the division of hematology/oncology in the Department of Medicine at the College of Medicine in Tucson, confirmed the news on October 12.
“She was internationally recognized for her work on biliary tract cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma, focusing on this rare and historically difficult-to-treat disease when few treatment options existed and no Food and Drug Administration-approved therapies were available,” the university wrote. “Today, the field has changed dramatically, in part due to the landmark clinical trials led by Dr. Shroff as principal investigator.”
Shroff was diagnosed with cancer after developing a swollen lymph node in May, Today reports. Tests showed the illness likely originated in his stomach or intestine and by the end of the month it had spread throughout his body. There was no cure for his condition, according to the outlet.
“It’s been a journey,” Shroff told NBC News’ Anne Thompson about his diagnosis in a Zoom interview before his death. “I have spent my whole life trying to eradicate cancer, mainly pancreatic cancer, but also liver cancer.”
Shroff is survived by her husband and two children, her father, mother and sister. She was the mother of teenagers, according to Today.
In September, before her death, Shroff established a permanent source of funding for the next generation of researchers, called the “Conquer Cancer – Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO Young Investigator Award in Biliary Cancer.”
“Facing his own life-limiting cancer,” the university wrote, it was “one of his last wishes.”
Shroff’s goal was ambitious, but she achieved it, raising $1.35 million to permanently endow the prize, which the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Conquer Cancer organization says will ensure “one new investigator is funded each year in perpetuity.”
Gn Health
