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Rachna Malani
Rating: 4.9 of 5
( out of 113 reviews )

Rachna Malani, MD

Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Sindhi, Spanish, Urdu

Clinical Locations

Huntsman Cancer Institute - Cancer Hospital South

Clinic 2B, Neuro-Oncology
Salt Lake City
801-585-0250

  • Rachna Malani, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of Utah and an Investigator at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She specializes in Neuro-Oncology with a focus on treating patients with gliomas, primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), and metastatic disease to the central nervous system.

    Dr. Malani received her medical degree from the ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of Sheffield, United Kingdom. She then did her neurology residency at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn. She then went on to do her Neuro-Oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City. Once she completed her fellowship she became an Attending physician in Neuro-Oncology at MSKCC where she practiced for several years before joining the ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of Utah/Huntsman Cancer Institute.

    Dr. Malani’s research interests include clinical trial research focused on the diagnosis and treatment of metastatic disease to the central nervous system as well as treatment of gliomas. She also enjoys dedicating time to medical education with a focus on teaching medical students, residents, and fellows.

    Dr. Malani is originally from Santa Clara, California. She enjoys spending her time reading, stand up paddle boarding and traveling.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (Neurology)
    United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (Neuro-oncology)

    Patient Rating

    Rating: 4.9 out of 5
    4.9 /5
    ( out of 113 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    August 17, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Very personable and took plenty of.time to make sure we understood everything and all concerns were addressed.

    August 16, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Dr. Malani is phenomenal at what she does. From the moment you meet her you know she truly cares about her patients. She cares about her patients as a whole person and not just their diagnosis. I always feel seen and heard by her. She explains things in a way that I can understand and with such compassion.

    July 19, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Dr. Malani is an amazing provider. She truly cares about her patients. I appreciate how she asks how I'm doing and I know she truly wants to know. I am grateful she's my doctor.

    July 04, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Dr. Malani, truly is a incredible oncologist/person. You can tell that she truly cares about her patients. She took the time to ask me how I was doing and how everything is going from my perspective. I'm grateful that she values my opinion and point of view. I left my appointment with all my questions answered and knowing that we were on the same page. I'm very thankful.

    June 18, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Thank you Dr. Malani for all of the amazing treatment I have received for my Brain and Spine tumors.

    June 16, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    She gave me some more hope for my treatment.

    May 30, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Thanks! You make our lives better by truly caring about me as a patient.

    May 29, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    We are grateful Dr Malani is on our team. She is with us on this journey.

    May 27, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Dr Malani was incredible. She had to deliver a tough message but did it in a way that helped us feel as good as possible about it. She was empathetic and optimistic and clearly explained everything and took the time to hear our story and answer our questions.

    See More Patient Comments

  • Rachna Malani, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of Utah and an Investigator at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She specializes in Neuro-Oncology with a focus on treating patients with gliomas, primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), and metastatic disease to the central nervous system.

    Dr. Malani received her medical degree from the ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of Sheffield, United Kingdom. She then did her neurology residency at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn. She then went on to do her Neuro-Oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City. Once she completed her fellowship she became an Attending physician in Neuro-Oncology at MSKCC where she practiced for several years before joining the ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of Utah/Huntsman Cancer Institute.

    Dr. Malani’s research interests include clinical trial research focused on the diagnosis and treatment of metastatic disease to the central nervous system as well as treatment of gliomas. She also enjoys dedicating time to medical education with a focus on teaching medical students, residents, and fellows.

    Dr. Malani is originally from Santa Clara, California. She enjoys spending her time reading, stand up paddle boarding and traveling.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Neurosurgery -Assistant Professor (Clinical)
    Board Certification
    American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (Neurology)
    United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (Neuro-oncology)

    Education history

    Fellowship Neuro-Oncology - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Fellow
    Residency Neurology - State ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of New York Downstate Medical Center Resident
    Internship Internal Medicine - State ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of New York Downstate Medical Center Intern
    Professional Medical Medicine - ÈËÆÞÖгöÊÓƵ of Sheffield M.B.Ch.B.

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Schaff LR, Piotrowski AF, Pentsova E, Gavrilovic IT, Lin A, Kaley TJ, Wongchai V, Emadi-Paramkouhi L, Madzsar J, Quinn L, Gonzalez A, Breakey L, Tang SS, Mendez JS, Malani R, Nolan C, Hatzoglou V, Young RJ, DeAngelis LM, Reiner AS, Panageas KS, Francis JH, Mellinghoff IK, Grommes C (2025). Phase Ib study with expansion of ibrutinib, lenalidomide and rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory CNS lymphoma. Neuro Oncol. ()
    2. Hongsermeier-Graves N, Hasen M, Yaffe N, Ajisebutu A, Malani R (2025). Liquid biopsy in early detection and monitoring of CNS metastases. Adv Cancer Res, 165, 255-290. ()
    3. Valerius AR, Webb MJ, Hammad N, Sener U, Malani R (2024). Cerebrospinal Fluid Liquid Biopsies in the Evaluation of Adult Gliomas. Curr Oncol Rep, 26(4), 377-390.
    4. Bian DJH, Lazaratos AM, Maritan SM, Quaiattini A, Zeng Z, Zhu Z, Sener U, Malani R, Kim YJ, Ichihara E, Cohen V, Rose AAN, Bouganim N, Dankner M (2024). Osimertinib is associated with improved outcomes in pre-treated non-small cell lung cancer leptomeningeal metastases: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Heliyon, 10(9), e29668.
    5. Bhatia A, Moreno R, Reiner AS, Nandakumar S, Walch HS, Malani R, Panageas KS, Mellinghoff IK, Bale TA, Young RJ (2024). Tumor Volume Growth as Surrogate Endpoint in IDH-mt Glioma-Response. Clin Cancer Res, 30(3), 639.
    6. Puri S, Malani R, Chalmers A, Kerrigan K, Patel SB, Monynahan K, Cannon L, Blouw B, Akerley W (2023). Keeping a track on leptomeningeal disease in non-small cell lung cancer: A single-institution experience with CNSide(TM). Neurooncol Adv, 6(1), vdad150. ()
    7. Malani R, Bhatia A, Warner AB, Yang JT (2023). Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis from Solid Tumor Malignancies: Treatment Strategies and Biomarkers. Seminars in Neurology, 43(6), 859-866. ()
    8. Bhatia A, Moreno R, Reiner AS, Nandakumar S, Walch HS, Thomas TM, Nicklin PJ, Choi Y, Skakodub A, Malani R, Prabhakaran V, Tiwari P, Diaz M, Panageas KS, Mellinghoff IK, Bale TA, Young RJ (2023). Tumor Volume Growth Rates and Doubling Times during Active Surveillance of IDH-mutant Low-Grade Glioma. Clin Cancer Res. ()
    9. Huang Y, Moreno R, Malani R, Meng A, Swinburne N, Holodny AI, Choi Y, Rusinek H, Golomb JB, George A, Parra LC, Young RJ (2022). Deep Learning Achieves Neuroradiologist-Level Performance in Detecting Hydrocephalus Requiring Treatment. J Digit Imaging, 35(6), 1662-1672. ()
    10. Yang JT, Wijetunga NA, Pentsova E, Wolden S, Young RJ, Correa D, Zhang Z, Zheng J, Steckler A, Bucwinska W, Bernstein A, Betof Warner A, Yu H, Kris MG, Seidman AD, Wilcox JA, Malani R, Lin A, DeAngelis LM, Lee NY, Powell SN, Boire A (2022). Randomized Phase II Trial of Proton Craniospinal Irradiation Versus Photon Involved-Field Radiotherapy for Patients With Solid Tumor Leptomeningeal Metastasis. J Clin Oncol, 40(33), 3858-3867. ()
    11. Ferraro E, Singh J, Patil S, Razavi P, Modi S, Chandarlapaty S, Barrio AV, Malani R, Mellinghoff IK, Boire A, Wen HY, Brogi E, Seidman AD, Norton L, Robson ME, Dang CT (2022). Incidence of brain metastases in patients with early HER2-positive breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy with trastuzumab and pertuzumab. NPJ Breast Cancer, 8(1), 37. ()
    12. Wijetunga NA, Boire A, Young RJ, Yamada Y, Wolden S, Yu H, Kris M, Seidman A, Betof-Warner A, Diaz M, Reiner A, Malani R, Pentsova E, Yang JT (2021). Quantitative cerebrospinal fluid circulating tumor cells are a potential biomarker of response for proton craniospinal irradiation for leptomeningeal metastasis. Neurooncol Adv, 3(1), vdab181. ()
    13. Ho KG, Bale T, Grommes C, Bhatia A, Malani R (2021). Use of circulating tumor DNA to guide treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma: a case report. Neurooncol Adv, 3(1), vdab143. ()
    14. Malani R, Fleisher M, Kumthekar P, Lin X, Omuro A, Groves MD, Lin NU, Melisko M, Lassman AB, Jeyapalan S, Seidman A, Skakodub A, Boire A, DeAngelis LM, Rosenblum M, Raizer J, Pentsova E (2020). Cerebrospinal fluid circulating tumor cells as a quantifiable measurement of leptomeningeal metastases in patients with HER2 positive cancer. J Neurooncol, 148(3), 599-606. ()
    15. Gusdon AM, Nyquist PA, Torres-Lopez VM, Leasure AC, Falcone GJ, Sheth KN, Sansing LH, Hanley DF, Malani R (2019). Perihematomal Edema After Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Patients With Active Malignancy. Stroke, 51(1), 129-136. ()
    16. Gusdon AM, Cho SM, Mayasi Y, Malani R, Pttgen HA, Duffield A, Bolaos-Meade J, Lim M (2019). Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Resulting in Hemorrhagic Brain Masses After Sepsis. Neurohospitalist, 10(1), 64-68. ()
    17. Bhatia A, Birger M, Veeraraghavan H, Um H, Tixier F, McKenney AS, Cugliari M, Caviasco A, Bialczak A, Malani R, Flynn J, Zhang Z, Yang TJ, Santomasso BD, Shoushtari AN, Young RJ (2019). MRI radiomic features are associated with survival in melanoma brain metastases treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Neuro Oncol, 21(12), 1578-1586. ()
    18. Sener U, Matin N, Yu H, Lin A, Yang TJ, Malani R (2019). Radiographic appearance of leptomeningeal disease in patients with EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung carcinoma treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a case series. CNS Oncol, 8(4), CNS42. ()
    19. Malani R, Bhatia A, Wolfe J, Grommes C (2019). Staging identifies non-CNS malignancies in a large cohort with newly diagnosed lymphomatous brain lesions. Leuk Lymphoma, 60(9), 2278-2282. ()
    20. Gusdon AM, Malani R, Chen X (2019). Clinical and EEG Characteristics of Ifosfamide-Related Encephalopathy. J Clin Neurophysiol, 36(2), 150-154. ()

    Review

    1. Kaplan A, Li MJ, Malani R (2022). Treatments on the Horizon: Breast Cancer Patients with Central Nervous System Metastases. [Review]. Curr Oncol Rep, 24(3), 343-350. ()
    2. Dominguez M, Malani R (2021). Stroke-Like Migraine Attacks After Radiation Therapy (SMART) Syndrome: A Comprehensive Review. [Review]. Curr Pain Headache Rep, 25(5), 33. ()

    Editorial

    1. Malani R (2020). A view on the landscape of breast cancer brain metastases. CNS Oncol, 9(3), CNS59. ()