Breast Medical Oncologist Returns Home to Serve in Multidisciplinary Clinic

Priya Jayachandran, MD, FACP, spoke about her new position at El Camino Health as well as her career as a breast oncologist.

Going back to her roots, Priya Jayachandran, MD, FACP, was ecstatic to return to the Bay Area after accepting a position as a breast medical oncologist, co-Director of the Breast Oncology Program, and Medical Director of Research at El Camino Health.¹

The community health care center has recently emphasized expanding its oncology teams as well as creating a multidisciplinary breast cancer clinic. Here, Jayachandran will be able to treat those who are most affected by breast cancer throughout the San Francisco area.

“I’ve always wanted to be a physician. Working as a breast medical oncologist is particularly rewarding for me as I feel I’m truly able to help people at a particularly vulnerable and scary time in their lives,” Jayachandran said in a conversation with CancerNetwork®. “It’s a field where deep, long-term relationships are formed, and I cherish the trust that people place in me.”

An Expansive Breast Cancer Career

Jayachandran’s history with El Camino Health runs deep, having volunteered there as a high school student. Later in her career, she returned as a hospitalist. Her previous positions as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California and director of Breast Medical Oncology and Genomics at Los Angeles General Medical Center helped her prepare for this new role.

When asked about the most intriguing research that she has conducted, Jayachandran highlighted a few key topics.

First was her work on the disruption of circadian processes and its link to cancer development. Presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the study looked at 9563 breast tumors that underwent molecular profiling.² Patients with triple-negative breast cancer had the highest clock gene score of 0.96 compared with those who had hormone receptor–positive or HER2-negative disease with a score of 0.26 (Q <.001).

Jayachandran has also researched fasting and mimicking diets in relation to helping reduce adverse effects and increasing response to chemotherapy. She described fast mimicking diets as those that mimic “some of the metabolic effects of a water-only diet” while “inducing metabolic shifts in glucose, insulin, and IGF-1 levels that can have anti-cancer effects.”

"They may modulate the immune system to enhance the body’s natural anti-tumor response,” Jayachandran wrote in an email correspondence with CancerNetwork. “Additionally, the low caloric intake can exploit the differential stress response between cancer and normal cells.”

She is currently a co-principal investigator on a trial (NCT01802346) assessing a controlled low-calorie diet and looking into these specific outcomes. Accrual has been completed, and analyses are underway.³

The objective of the trial was to determine the preliminary impact of the restricted diet on toxicity and efficacy of chemotherapy for patients with breast and prostate cancer; evaluate the compliance with a controlled diet intervention; and investigate changes in plasma insulin, glucose IGF1, and IGF binding levels in patients who consume a restricted diet compared with controls.

In arm 1, patients were to eat a low-calorie diet 3 days before receiving chemotherapy, during the 12 weeks of treatment, and for 2 days after. Patients were given all meals and were to keep a log of all food consumed. In arm 2, patients were given a normal diet and received advice from a nutritionist while keeping a log of all types and amounts of food consumed.

Over the course of her career, Jayachandran has been able to observe the increased use of immunotherapy, the expansion of antibody drug conjugates, and further development of novel agents. She also highlighted that artificial intelligence tools are being incorporated into clinical practice.

“The biggest advances are hopefully yet to come. As our shared goal is to cure everyone of cancer, regardless of their tumor type or their stage, and to do so with manageable [adverse] effects, it has been exciting to see that there’s been so many changes, even over just the last few years, in breast cancer,” Jayachandran said.

Building the Breast Program at El Camino Health

As a community health care practice, El Camino Health wants to ensure that patients can receive timely care and be able to speak with a provider when an issue arises. The multidisciplinary breast clinic will allow for “swift access, combined with treating the whole person, not just the disease,” according to a press release from El Camino Health.¹

Jayachandran mentioned they are also building a survivorship clinic, which would be integrated into the evolving multidisciplinary clinic to allow for more full-person care.

“Our multidisciplinary clinic allows patients to come in when they are often afraid [after] having received a new diagnosis of cancer, and they get to see all the relevant specialists— the medical oncologist, surgeon, the radiation oncologist—together in 1 coordinated clinic day. We will be incorporating genetics, social work and plastic surgery as well,” said Jayachandran.

Additionally, patients will be able to leave appointments with a complete treatment plan without having to travel to multiple locations. Alternatively, it allows the providers to also coordinate care and determine what the best possible approach might be.

Closing Thoughts

According to Jayachandran, part of being an oncologist is constantly having your patients on your mind even when not physically at work. However, it’s important to remember to have fun along the way.

She also noted that “not every step during the journey maybe perfect, but if you’re earnest and dedicated, you will be able to earn the trust and support of mentors to help propel your success. It’s important to remember, especially in a multidisciplinary clinic, that all providers are on the same team and want the same outcomes.”

To end the conversation about working in oncology, Jayachandran noted, “In the end, your patients will appreciate you, and you will make a significant difference in people’s lives. That is the greatest and ultimate reward.”

References

1. El Camino Health expands oncology team with highly skilled specialists. News release. El Camino Health. Accessed July 23, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/45tswaeb
2. Jayachandran P, Baca Y, Xiu J, et al. Clock genes in breast cancer. Cancer Res. 2023;83(suppl 5):P4-08-06. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.SABCS22-P4-08-06
3. Controlled low calorie diet in reducing side effects and increasing response to chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated June 8, 2025. Accessed July 24, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/y64zukrz