Dani Castillo, M.D.

Hematologist/oncologist Dani Castillo, M.D., was inspired to become a physician by the experience of a family member diagnosed with cancer. City of Hope’s patient-centered culture and ample research opportunities drew her to join the faculty. In her view, she and each of her patients form a team. Her goal is to understand their values and to enable them to make well-informed decisions about their care. 

After her medical training, Dr. Castillo conducted stem cell transplantation research as a postdoctoral fellow at University of California San Diego and lung cancer investigations as a research associate at University of Southern California. She has been recognized with a Merit Award at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and an Abstract Achievement Award at the 2012 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. When she came on board at City of Hope in 2023, she had a dozen peer-reviewed scientific publications to her credit, including studies in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Blood.

My clinical interests are primarily centered around esophageal and gastric cancers in different stages. I am fortunate to collaborate with world-class surgeons who specialize in these areas. Together, we emphasize a multidisciplinary approach to provide comprehensive treatment for patients diagnosed with these conditions.

Away from the lab and the clinic, Dr. Castillo enjoys Zumba, traveling and watching NBA games.

• Castillo DR, Park D, Jeon WJ, Joung B, Lee J, Yang C, Pham B, Hino C, Chong E, Shields A, Nguyen A, Brothers J, Liu Y, Zhang KK, Cao H. Unveiling the prognostic significance of BCL6+/CD10+ mantle cell lymphoma: Meta-analysis of individual patients and systematic review. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jun 16;24(12):10207. doi: 10.3390/ijms241210207. PMID: 37373354; PMCID: PMC10298847.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/12/10207

• Kwan SY, Castillo DR, Aka AA, Kandala G, Tsai JY, Zmaj K, Reeves ME, Yang GY. Perianal basosquamous carcinoma treated with radiation therapy, a case report. J Gastrointest Oncol. 2023 Feb 28;14(1):463-467. doi: 10.21037/jgo-22-1244. Epub 2023 Feb 24. PMID: 36915436; PMCID: PMC10007913.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10007913/

• Pham B, Kwon SM, Castillo DR*, Majeed Y, Ahmad S, Hou J, Ganesan L, Mohammad S, Cao H*. Late renal toxicity in patient with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer treated with lenvatinib: A case report and literature review. J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2022 Apr 4:10781552221092329. (* Corresponding author)
• Hino C, Pham B, Park D, Yang C, Nguyen MHK, Kaur S, Reeves ME, Xu Y, Nishino K, Pu L, Kwon SM, Zhong JF, Zhang KK, Xie L, Chong EG, Chen CS, Nguyen V, Castillo DR*, Cao H*. Targeting the tumor microenvironment in acute myeloid leukemia: The future of immunotherapy and natural products. Biomedicines. 2022 Jun 14;10(6):1410. (* Corresponding author)
• Castillo DR*, Park D, Mehta A, Kaur S, Nguyen A, Akhtari M. Outcomes of the pregnancies with chronic myeloid leukemia in the tyrosine kinase inhibitor era, and literature review. Hematol Rep. 2022 Mar 20;14(1):45-53. Doi: 10.3390/hematolrep14010008. PMID: 35323179. (* Corresponding author)
• Castillo DR *, Pairawan SS, Denham L, Lum SS., and Nagara G*. Biomarker evolution after neoadjuvant systemic therapy in breast cancer. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.e12615 Journal of Clinical Oncology 40, no. 16_suppl (June 01, 2022) e12615-e12615. (* Corresponding author) 
• Zhou B, Flodby P, Luo J, Castillo DR, Liu Y, Yu FX, McConnell A, Varghese B, Li G, Chimge NO, Sunohara M, Koss MN, Elatre W, Conti P, Liebler JM, Yang C, Marconett CN, Laird-Offringa IA, Minoo P, Guan K, Stripp BR, Crandall ED, Borok Z. Claudin-18-mediated YAP activity regulates lung stem and progenitor cell homeostasis and tumorigenesis. J Clin Invest. 2018 Mar 1;128(3):970-984.
• Ran-Castillo D, Oluwole A, Abuaisha M, Banks Paulino AR, Alkhatatneh A, Jang J, Donaldson S, Shammash J, Williams K. Risk, outcomes, and trends of clostridium difficile infection in multiple myeloma patients from a nationwide analysis. Cureus. 2019 Apr 5;11(4): e4391. Doi: 10.7759/cureus.4391. PMID: 31205828.
• Flodby P, Liebler JM, Sunohara M, Ran-Castillo D, McConnell AM, Krishnaveni MS, Banfalvi A, Li M, Stripp B, Zhou B, Crandall ED, Minoo P, Borok Z. Region-specific role for Pten in maintenance of epithelial phenotype and integrity. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2017, Jan; 312(1): L131-L142. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 27864284. Pub Status: Published.
• Arimoto K, Burkart C, Yan M, Ran D, Weng S, Zhang DE. Plakophilin-2 promotes tumor development by enhancing ligand-dependent and independent epidermal growth factor receptor dimerization and activation. Mol Cell Biol. 2014, Oct; 34(4): 3843-54. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 25113560. Pub Status: Published.
• Weng S, Matsuura S, Mowery CT, Stoner SA, Lam K, Ran D, Davis AG, Lo MC, Zhang DE. Restoration of MYC-repressed targets mediates the negative effects of GM-CSF on RUNX-ETO leukemogenicity. Leukemia. 2017, Jan; 31(1): 159-169. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 27389055. Pub Status: Published.
• Ran D, Lam K, Shia WJ, Lo MC, Fan JB, Knorr DA, Ferrell Pl, Ye ZH, Yan M, Cheng LZ, Kaufman OS, and Zhang DE (2013). The role of RUNX1 isoforms in hematopoietic commitment of human pluripotent stem cells. Letter to Editor. Blood.2013 Jun 27; 121(26):5252-3.