Dr. Alcasabas is a pediatric oncologist at the University of the Philippines, Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH), a referral center providing specialized medical treatment for the poor. This hospital takes care of 10% of the newly diagnosed children with cancer in the nation each year. Dr. Alcasabas’ desire to serve is borne out of the need to relieve the suffering of her patients and their families, and from seeing the disparity in access to medical treatment and resources between rich and poor, and of Filipinos as a whole, compared to prosperous nations. Her research interests are retinoblastoma, brain tumors, bone cancers and the evaluation of healthcare quality metrics.
Dr. Alcasabas earned her medical degree in 1994 from the University of the Philippines in Manila, Philippines. Her first job was a primary healthcare worker/doctor for a native tribe in one of the Philippine Islands. She was awarded one of the best interns in Community Medicine.
She trained in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology Oncology at Wayne State University and the Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
Dr. Alcasabas currently works in Philippine General Hospital where she is Head, Section of Pediatric Hematology Oncology. She leads and coordinates the patient services, research and fellowship training program of the section.
Dr. Alcasabas is inspired by the following quote from Mother Theresa: “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”
“There are many exciting, new developments happening in my country. Universal health care and the Integrated National Cancer Control Act have just been signed into law and we were chosen as a WHO Focus Country for Childhood cancer in the Western Pacific Region. I believe this Masters in Global Child Health from the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences will teach me to collaborate meaningfully with the many stakeholders of our healthcare system. It will also and help me create and implement relevant pediatric cancer programs in the Philippines, and hopefully for the region too.”
Education
MD - University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
Selected Publications
Alcasabas, P., Dettore, A., Ozgonenel, B., Bhambhani, K., Ravindranath, Y., & Savasan, S. Vacuolated neuroblastoma cells mimicking FAB L(3) lymphoblasts in bone marrow aspirates. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 48(2), 227-229 (2007)
Alcasabas, P., Ravindranath, Y., Goyette, G., Haller, A., Del Rosario, L., Lesaca-Medina, M. Y., . . . Everson, R. B.). 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms and the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Filipino children. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 51(2), 178 (2008)
Denburg, A. E., Ramirez, A., Pavuluri, S., McCann, E., Shah, S., Alcasabas, T., . . . Atun, R. Political priority and pathways to scale-up of childhood cancer care in five nations. PLoS One, 14(8), e0221292. (2019).
Fisher, C., Rajpurkar, M., Alcasabas, P., & Curtis, M. Central nervous system hemangioblastoma and von Hippel-Lindau syndrome: a familial presentation. Clin Pediatr (Phila), 45(5), 456-462. (2006).
Lewin, J., Puri, A., Quek, R., Ngan, R., Alcasabas, A. P., Wood, D., & Thomas, D. Management of sarcoma in the Asia-Pacific region: resource-stratified guidelines. Lancet Oncol, 14(12), e562-570. (2013).
Parikh, N. S., Howard, S. C., Chantada, G., Israels, T., Khattab, M., Alcasabas, P., . . . Matthay, K. K. SIOP-PODC adapted risk stratification and treatment guidelines: Recommendations for neuroblastoma in low- and middle-income settings. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 62(8), 1305-1316. (2015).
Rajpurkar, M., Alcasabas, P., Warrier, I., Valentini, R. P., Fassinger, N., Frattarelli, D. A., & Ravindranath, Y. Effect of dialysis on all trans retinoic acid levels in a child with acute promyelocytic leukemia and renal failure. Pediatr Blood Cancer, 49(7), 994-996. (2007).
Redaniel, M. T., Laudico, A., Mirasol-Lumague, M. R., Alcasabas, A. P., Pulte, D., & Brenner, H. Geographic and ethnic differences in childhood leukaemia and lymphoma survival: comparisons of Philippine residents, Asian Americans and Caucasians in the United States. Br J Cancer, 103(1), 149-154. (2010).
Rodriguez-Galindo, C., Friedrich, P., Alcasabas, P., Antillon, F., Banavali, S., Castillo, L., . . . Gross, T. Toward the Cure of All Children With Cancer Through Collaborative Efforts: Pediatric Oncology As a Global Challenge. J Clin Oncol, 33(27), 3065-3073. (2015).
Tham, E. H., Cheng, Y. K., Tay, M. H., Alcasabas, A. P., & Shek, L. P. Evaluation and management of hypersensitivity reactions to chemotherapy agents. Postgrad Med J, 91(1073), 145-150. (2015).
Last update: November 2019