# Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa

Source: https://onco.cc/people/ghassan-abou-alfa/  
OnCo record `ghassan-abou-alfa` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Led HIMALAYA and ClarIDHy, which gave liver cancer a dual-immunotherapy option and biliary cancer its first targeted drug.

## Summary

Ghassan Abou-Alfa was principal investigator of HIMALAYA, which established durvalumab plus a single dose of tremelimumab (STRIDE) as a first-line option in hepatocellular carcinoma, and of ClarIDHy, which won ivosidenib approval for IDH1-mutant cholangiocarcinoma, the first targeted therapy in biliary cancer. He has led biliary trials with Juan Valle for two decades and chairs the ASCO hepatobiliary guideline work.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: hcc; biliary; trialist
- Role: Attending Physician, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Specialisms: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Biliary tract cancer; IDH-targeted therapy; Immunotherapy

## Sources

- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Abou-Alfa%20GK%5BAuthor%5D%20hepatocellular%20OR%20cholangiocarcinoma

## Connected records

- cancers: [Biliary tract cancer (cholangiocarcinoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/cholangiocarcinoma/), [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- targets: [CTLA-4](https://onco.cc/targets/ctla4/), [IDH1 / IDH2](https://onco.cc/targets/idh/), [PD-L1](https://onco.cc/targets/pdl1/)
- drugs: [Durvalumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/durvalumab/)
- institutions: [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/mskcc/)
- trials: [ClarIDHy](https://onco.cc/trials/claridhy/), [HIMALAYA](https://onco.cc/trials/himalaya/), [NIFTY](https://onco.cc/trials/nifty/)
- journals: [NEJM Evidence](https://onco.cc/journals/nejm-evidence/)
- key papers: [Clinical and genomic characterization of ERBB2-altered gallbladder cancer: exploring differences between an American and a Chilean cohort](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-mondaca-erbb2-gallbladder-us-chile-jco-go-2024/), [Comprehensive molecular characterization of gallbladder carcinoma and potential targets for intervention](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-giraldo-gallbladder-msk-impact-ccr-2022/), [Liposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil and leucovorin versus fluorouracil and leucovorin for metastatic biliary tract cancer after progression on gemcitabine plus cisplatin (NIFTY): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 2b study](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-nifty-liposomal-irinotecan-lancet-oncol-2021/), [Molecular and clinical determinants of targeted therapy treatment in biliary tract cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-cowzer-biliary-targeted-therapy-determinants-ccr-2026/), [Pertuzumab and trastuzumab for HER2-positive, metastatic biliary tract cancer (MyPathway): a multicentre, open-label, phase 2a, multiple basket study](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-javle-mypathway-her2-biliary-lancet-oncol-2021/), [Regional differences in gallbladder cancer pathogenesis: insights from a multi-institutional comparison of tumor mutations](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-narayan-gallbladder-regional-mutations-cancer-2019/)

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