Areas of expertise

Dr. Kushal Rizal · Consultant Medical Oncologist

Solid tumors and blood cancers, grouped by organ system. Select a group to go straight to it.

Solid tumors

Head and Neck Cancers

  • Oral Cavity Cancers: Malignancies of the lip, floor of the mouth, oral tongue, buccal mucosa, gingiva, hard palate, and retromolar trigone.
  • Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinuses: Cancers of the nasal vestibule, nasal cavity, and paranasal sinuses.
  • Salivary Gland Tumors: Malignancies of the major (parotid, submandibular, sublingual) and minor salivary glands.
  • Pharyngeal Cancers: Includes malignancies of the nasopharynx, oropharynx, postcricoid pharynx, and pyriform sinus.
  • Laryngeal Cancers: Cancers affecting the supraglottic larynx, subglottic larynx, and true vocal cords.
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Thoracic and Respiratory System

  • Lung and Bronchial Malignancies: Includes Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma), Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), and typical or atypical carcinoid tumors.
  • Pleural and Mediastinal Malignancies: Malignant Mesothelioma (pleural and peritoneal) and mediastinal neoplasms such as thymomas and thymic epithelial tumors.
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Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary System

  • Esophageal Cancer: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
  • Stomach (Gastric) Cancer: Gastric adenocarcinoma, signet ring cell carcinoma, and noncardia gastric carcinoma.
  • Small Bowel (Intestinal) Cancers: Small bowel adenocarcinoma and small bowel neuroendocrine/carcinoid tumors.
  • Colorectal and Anal Cancers: Adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum, anal squamous cell carcinoma, and anorectal melanoma.
  • Liver and Biliary Tract Malignancies: Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (perihilar and distal), gallbladder cancer, extrahepatic biliary tract cancer, and ampullary carcinoma.
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC), Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (pNETs) (insulinoma, gastrinoma, glucagonoma, somatostatinoma, VIPoma, ACTHoma), and solid-pseudopapillary neoplasms.
  • Peritoneum: Primary peritoneal carcinoma and peritoneal metastases (including pseudomyxoma peritonei).
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Breast Cancer

  • Female Breast Cancer: Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS), Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, HER2-positive breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer, and Paget disease of the nipple.
  • Male Breast Cancer.
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Gynecologic Malignancies

  • Cervical Cancer: HPV-related and non-HPV endocervical adenocarcinoma, as well as cervical squamous cell carcinoma.
  • Uterine Body (Endometrial) Malignancies: Endometrial carcinoma (endometrioid, serous, clear cell) and uterine sarcomas (endometrial stromal sarcoma, leiomyosarcoma).
  • Ovarian and Fallopian Tube Cancers: Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (high-grade and low-grade serous, mucinous, clear cell, endometrioid, Brenner tumors), malignant ovarian germ cell tumors, and sex cord–stromal tumors.
  • Vulvar and Vaginal Cancers: Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma, vulvar malignant melanoma, Bartholin gland carcinoma, and vaginal carcinoma.
  • Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia: Choriocarcinoma, placental site trophoblastic tumor, and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor.
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Genitourinary and Urologic Cancers

  • Prostate Cancer: Prostate adenocarcinoma.
  • Renal and Upper Urinary Tract Cancers: Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) (clear cell, papillary, chromophobe, succinate dehydrogenase-associated), as well as renal pelvic and ureteral urothelial carcinomas.
  • Urinary Bladder Cancer: Urothelial/bladder carcinoma.
  • Testicular Malignancies: Testicular germ cell tumors (seminoma, embryonal carcinoma, choriocarcinoma, teratoma, yolk sac tumor) and adenocarcinoma of the rete testis.
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Endocrine Neoplasms

  • Thyroid Cancers: Differentiated thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular), anaplastic thyroid cancer, and medullary thyroid cancer.
  • Parathyroid Tumors: Parathyroid carcinoma and adenoma.
  • Adrenal Tumors: Adrenocortical Carcinoma (ACC) and adrenocortical adenomas.
  • Neural Crest & Paraganglia: Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma (e.g., glomus jugulare tumors).
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Cutaneous Malignancies (Skin)

  • Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers: Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC), Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans (DFSP), Angiosarcoma of the skin, Microcystic Adnexal Carcinoma, Sebaceous Carcinoma, Extramammary Paget Disease, and Atypical Fibroxanthoma.
  • Cutaneous and Mucosal Melanoma: Superficial spreading, nodular, lentigo maligna, acral lentiginous, desmoplastic, Spitz, and mucosal melanomas.
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Central Nervous System (CNS) and Ocular Malignancies

  • Brain and Spinal Axis Tumors: Glioblastoma, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, ependymoma, medulloblastoma/embryonal tumors, brain stem glioma, ganglioglioma, choroid plexus tumors, craniopharyngioma, pituitary adenoma, meningioma, pineal region tumors, chordoma, and spinal axis tumors.
  • Ocular Malignancies: Uveal melanoma (choroidal, ciliary body, and iris) and retinoblastoma.
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Musculoskeletal System (Sarcomas of Bone and Soft Tissue)

  • Bone Sarcomas: Osteosarcoma (conventional, telangiectatic, small cell), Chondrosarcoma (conventional, mesenchymal, clear cell, dedifferentiated), Ewing Sarcoma, chordoma, malignant giant cell tumor of bone, and adamantinoma.
  • Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Liposarcoma (well-differentiated, dedifferentiated, myxoid, pleomorphic), Leiomyosarcoma (LMS), Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST), Synovial Sarcoma, Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma (UPS), rhabdomyosarcomas (embryonal, alveolar, pleomorphic), fibrosarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma, alveolar soft part sarcoma, angiosarcoma, clear cell sarcoma, solitary fibrous tumor, and desmoid tumor/fibromatosis.
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Blood cancers

Acute Leukemias & Precursor Neoplasms

  • Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML):
    • AML with Recurrent Genetic Abnormalities: Core-binding factor leukemias [t(8;21), inv(16)/t(16;16)], Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia [APL with t(15;17)], AML with mutated NPM1, biallelic mutated CEBPA, FLT3-ITD, RUNX1, BCR-ABL1, or MLL/KMT2A translocations.
    • Therapy-Related Myeloid Neoplasms (t-AML): Secondary to alkylating agents, topoisomerase II inhibitors, or radiotherapy.
    • Secondary AML: Evolving from antecedent myelodysplastic syndromes or myeloproliferative neoplasms.
  • Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia / Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (ALL/LBL):
    • Precursor B-Cell ALL/LBL: Subtypes include Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+ / BCR-ABL1), ETV6-RUNX1, KMT2A-rearranged, and Ph-like ALL.
    • Precursor T-Cell ALL/LBL: Includes mature T-ALL and Early T-Cell Precursor (ETP) ALL.
  • Acute Leukemias of Ambiguous Lineage: Biphenotypic or mixed-lineage acute leukemias.
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Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

  • MDS Subtypes (WHO Classification):
    • MDS with Single Lineage Dysplasia (MDS-SLD) and Multilineage Dysplasia (MDS-MLD).
    • MDS with Ring Sideroblasts (MDS-RS): Associated with SF3B1 mutations.
    • MDS with Excess Blasts: MDS-EB-1 (5%–9% marrow blasts) and MDS-EB-2 (10%–19% marrow blasts or presence of Auer rods).
    • MDS with Isolated del(5q).
    • Childhood MDS and Clonal Cytopenia of Undetermined Significance (CCUS).
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Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) & Overlap Syndromes

  • Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML): BCR-ABL1-positive driven by the Philadelphia chromosome; categorized into Chronic Phase (CP), Accelerated Phase (AP), and Blast Crisis (BC).
  • Classic BCR-ABL1-Negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms:
    • Polycythemia Vera (PV).
    • Essential Thrombocythemia (ET).
    • Primary Myelofibrosis (PMF) / Post-ET or Post-PV Myelofibrosis.
  • Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Overlap Neoplasms (MDS/MPN):
    • Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML).
    • Atypical CML (aCML) / MDS/MPN with neutrophilia (often carrying SETBP1 or ETNK1 mutations).
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Mature B-Cell Neoplasms & Lymphomas

  • Indolent / Low-Grade B-Cell Lymphomas & Leukemias:
    • Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia / Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (CLL/SLL).
    • Monoclonal B-Cell Lymphocytosis (MBL).
    • Follicular Lymphoma (FL): Including nodal, duodenal, and pediatric-type FL.
    • Marginal Zone Lymphomas (MZL):
      • Extranodal MZL of Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT Lymphoma).
      • Nodal Marginal Zone Lymphoma.
      • Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL).
    • Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL) and Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant (HCL-v).
    • Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma (LPL) / Waldenström Macroglobulinemia (WM).
  • Aggressive & High-Grade B-Cell Lymphomas:
    • Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL):
      • Molecular subtypes: Germinal Center B-cell (GCB) type and Activated B-cell (ABC) type.
      • Subtypes/Site-Specific Entities: Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) Lymphoma, Primary Vitreoretinal Lymphoma, Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma (PMBL), Primary Cutaneous DLBCL (Leg type), Intravascular Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Testicular DLBCL, EBV-positive DLBCL, Plasmablastic Lymphoma, and Primary Effusion Lymphoma (HHV-8-associated).
    • Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL): Including classic, blastoid variants, and multiple lymphomatous polyposis.
    • Burkitt Lymphoma (BL): Driven by MYC translocations [t(8;14), t(2;8), t(8;22)].
    • High-Grade B-Cell Lymphoma (HGBCL):
      • HGBCL with MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements ("Double-Hit" / "Triple-Hit" Lymphoma).
      • HGBCL, Not Otherwise Specified (NOS).
    • Gray Zone Lymphoma (GZL): B-cell lymphoma unclassifiable with features intermediate between DLBCL and Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma.
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Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL)

  • Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (CHL) (90% of cases; characterized by CD15+/CD30+ Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg [HRS] cells):
    • Nodular Sclerosis CHL (NSCHL).
    • Mixed Cellularity CHL (MCCHL).
    • Lymphocyte-Rich CHL (LRCHL).
    • Lymphocyte-Depleted CHL (LDCHL).
  • Nodular Lymphocyte-Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL) (driven by CD20+/CD45+ "popcorn" LP cells).
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Mature T-Cell and Natural Killer (NK)-Cell Neoplasms

  • Systemic T-Cell & NK-Cell Lymphomas:
    • Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma, Not Otherwise Specified (PTCL, NOS).
    • Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma (AITL) and Nodal PTCL with T-follicular helper (Tfh) phenotype.
    • Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL): ALK-positive, ALK-negative, and Breast Implant-Associated ALCL.
    • Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATLL): HTLV-1-associated; categorized into acute, lymphomatous, chronic, and smoldering forms.
    • Extranodal NK/T-Cell Lymphoma, Nasal Type.
    • T-Cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia (T-PLL).
    • T-Cell Large Granular Lymphocytic (LGL) Leukemia and Chronic Lymphoproliferative Disorder of NK Cells.
    • Aggressive NK Cell Leukemia.
    • Intestinal T-Cell Lymphomas: Enteropathy-Associated T-Cell Lymphoma (EATL), Monomorphic Epitheliotropic Intestinal T-Cell Lymphoma (MEITL), and Indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder of the GI tract.
    • Hepatosplenic T-Cell Lymphoma: Typically gamma-delta (γδ) T-cell origin.
    • Subcutaneous Panniculitis-Like T-Cell Lymphoma (SPTCL).
  • Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphomas (CTCL):
    • Mycosis Fungoides (MF) (including Folliculotropic, Pagetoid Reticulosis, and Granulomatous Slack Skin variants).
    • Sézary Syndrome (SS).
    • Primary Cutaneous CD30+ Lymphoproliferative Disorders: Primary Cutaneous ALCL and Lymphomatoid Papulosis (LyP).
    • Primary Cutaneous Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas: Primary Cutaneous Gamma-Delta T-Cell Lymphoma, Primary Cutaneous Aggressive Epidermotropic CD8+ Cytotoxic T-Cell Lymphoma, and Primary Cutaneous CD4+ Small/Medium T-Cell Lymphoproliferative Disorder.
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Plasma Cell Neoplasms & Related Immunoglobulin Disorders

  • Precursor & Asymptomatic Plasma Cell Disorders:
    • Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS): Non-IgM MGUS, IgM MGUS, and Light Chain MGUS.
    • Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM) and Light Chain SMM.
  • Malignant Plasma Cell Disorders:
    • Multiple Myeloma (MM): Classified by cytogenetics into Hyperdiploid (trisomies) or IgH translocations [t(11;14), t(4;14), t(14;16), t(14;20), t(6;14)], alongside deletion 17p and 1q gain.
    • Plasma Cell Leukemia: Ultra-high-risk variant with ≥5% circulating plasma cells.
    • Solitary Plasmacytoma: Solitary Plasmacytoma of Bone and Extramedullary Plasmacytoma.
  • Plasma Cell-Related Systemic & Deposition Diseases:
    • Systemic AL (Immunoglobulin Light Chain) Amyloidosis.
    • POEMS Syndrome: Polyneuropathy, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, Monoclonal protein, Skin changes.
    • Monoclonal Immunoglobulin Deposition Disease (MIDD) / Light Chain Deposition Disease.
    • Cryoglobulinemia.
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Immunodeficiency-Associated & Dendritic Neoplasms

  • Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders (PTLD): Early lesions (Plasmacytic Hyperplasia / Infectious Mononucleosis-like), Polymorphic PTLD, Monomorphic PTLD (B-cell, T-cell, NK-cell types), and Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma-type PTLD.
  • HIV/AIDS-Associated Lymphomas: Includes HIV-associated DLBCL, Primary Effusion Lymphoma, Plasmablastic Lymphoma, and Burkitt Lymphoma.
  • Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN): Formerly CD4+/CD56+ hematodermic / blastic NK-cell neoplasm, derived from plasmacytoid dendritic cells.
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Last reviewed 30 October 2026