{"entity":{"id":"ghassan-abou-alfa","kind":"person","name":"Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa","aka":[],"tldr":"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.","asOf":"2026-09-10","links":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Abou-Alfa%20GK%5BAuthor%5D%20hepatocellular%20OR%20cholangiocarcinoma"}],"tags":["hcc","biliary","trialist"],"related":[],"cancers":["hcc","cholangiocarcinoma"],"sections":[],"technologies":["checkpoint-inhibitor"],"targets":["idh","pdl1","ctla4"],"drugs":["durvalumab"],"companies":[],"institutions":["mskcc"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["himalaya","claridhy"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":["nejm-evidence"],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"role":"Attending Physician, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center","institutionId":"mskcc","specialisms":["Hepatocellular carcinoma","Biliary tract cancer","IDH-targeted therapy","Immunotherapy"],"profiles":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Abou-Alfa%20GK%5BAuthor%5D%20hepatocellular%20OR%20cholangiocarcinoma"}],"papers":[{"title":"Tremelimumab plus durvalumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HIMALAYA)","journal":"NEJM Evidence","year":2022,"doi":"10.1056/EVIDoa2100070"},{"title":"Ivosidenib in IDH1-mutant, chemotherapy-refractory cholangiocarcinoma (ClarIDHy)","journal":"Lancet Oncology","year":2020,"doi":"10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30157-1"}],"orcid":"0000-0002-1522-8054"},"route":"/people/ghassan-abou-alfa/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"cholangiocarcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Biliary tract cancer (cholangiocarcinoma)","route":"/cancers/cholangiocarcinoma/"},{"id":"hcc","kind":"cancer","name":"Hepatocellular carcinoma","route":"/cancers/hcc/"}],"technology":[{"id":"checkpoint-inhibitor","kind":"technology","name":"Immune checkpoint inhibitors","route":"/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/"}],"target":[{"id":"ctla4","kind":"target","name":"CTLA-4","route":"/targets/ctla4/"},{"id":"idh","kind":"target","name":"IDH1 / IDH2","route":"/targets/idh/"},{"id":"pdl1","kind":"target","name":"PD-L1","route":"/targets/pdl1/"}],"drug":[{"id":"durvalumab","kind":"drug","name":"Durvalumab","route":"/drugs/durvalumab/"}],"institution":[{"id":"mskcc","kind":"institution","name":"Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center","route":"/institutions/mskcc/"}],"trial":[{"id":"claridhy","kind":"trial","name":"ClarIDHy","route":"/trials/claridhy/"},{"id":"himalaya","kind":"trial","name":"HIMALAYA","route":"/trials/himalaya/"},{"id":"nifty","kind":"trial","name":"NIFTY","route":"/trials/nifty/"}],"journal":[{"id":"nejm-evidence","kind":"journal","name":"NEJM Evidence","route":"/journals/nejm-evidence/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-mondaca-erbb2-gallbladder-us-chile-jco-go-2024","kind":"paper","name":"Clinical and genomic characterization of ERBB2-altered gallbladder cancer: exploring differences between an American and a Chilean cohort","route":"/key-papers/paper-mondaca-erbb2-gallbladder-us-chile-jco-go-2024/"},{"id":"paper-giraldo-gallbladder-msk-impact-ccr-2022","kind":"paper","name":"Comprehensive molecular characterization of gallbladder carcinoma and potential targets for intervention","route":"/key-papers/paper-giraldo-gallbladder-msk-impact-ccr-2022/"},{"id":"paper-nifty-liposomal-irinotecan-lancet-oncol-2021","kind":"paper","name":"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","route":"/key-papers/paper-nifty-liposomal-irinotecan-lancet-oncol-2021/"},{"id":"paper-cowzer-biliary-targeted-therapy-determinants-ccr-2026","kind":"paper","name":"Molecular and clinical determinants of targeted therapy treatment in biliary tract cancer","route":"/key-papers/paper-cowzer-biliary-targeted-therapy-determinants-ccr-2026/"},{"id":"paper-javle-mypathway-her2-biliary-lancet-oncol-2021","kind":"paper","name":"Pertuzumab and trastuzumab for HER2-positive, metastatic biliary tract cancer (MyPathway): a multicentre, open-label, phase 2a, multiple basket study","route":"/key-papers/paper-javle-mypathway-her2-biliary-lancet-oncol-2021/"},{"id":"paper-narayan-gallbladder-regional-mutations-cancer-2019","kind":"paper","name":"Regional differences in gallbladder cancer pathogenesis: insights from a multi-institutional comparison of tumor mutations","route":"/key-papers/paper-narayan-gallbladder-regional-mutations-cancer-2019/"}]}}