{"entity":{"id":"jaffer-ajani","kind":"person","name":"Jaffer A. Ajani","aka":[],"tldr":"Gastro-oesophageal oncologist who co-led CheckMate 649, the trial that added nivolumab to first-line gastric cancer chemotherapy.","summary":"Jaffer Ajani was a lead investigator of CheckMate 649, which showed nivolumab plus chemotherapy improves survival in first-line advanced gastric, gastro-oesophageal junction and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, and of CheckMate 648 in oesophageal squamous cancer. He chaired the NCCN gastric and oesophageal guideline panels for many years and studies the biology of peritoneal metastasis.","asOf":"2026-09-10","links":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Ajani%20JA%5BAuthor%5D%20gastric%20nivolumab"}],"tags":["gastric","esophageal","immunotherapy"],"related":[],"cancers":["gastric","esophageal"],"sections":[],"technologies":["checkpoint-inhibitor"],"targets":["pd1"],"drugs":["nivolumab"],"companies":[],"institutions":["md-anderson"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["checkmate-649","checkmate-648"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":["paper-checkmate-649-lancet-2021"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"role":"Professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center","institutionId":"md-anderson","specialisms":["Gastric cancer","Oesophageal cancer","Immunotherapy","Preoperative therapy"],"profiles":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Ajani%20JA%5BAuthor%5D%20gastric%20nivolumab"}],"papers":[{"title":"First-line nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for advanced gastric, gastro-oesophageal junction, and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (CheckMate 649)","journal":"Lancet","year":2021,"doi":"10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00797-2"},{"title":"Nivolumab combination therapy in advanced esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (CheckMate 648)","journal":"NEJM","year":2022,"doi":"10.1056/NEJMoa2111380"},{"title":"CheckMate 649: nivolumab plus chemotherapy as first treatment for advanced gastric, gastro-oesophageal junction and oesophageal adenocarcinoma","journal":"The Lancet","year":2021,"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=CheckMate+649+nivolumab+chemotherapy+gastric+Janjigian+Lancet+2021"}],"orcid":"0000-0001-9946-0629"},"route":"/people/jaffer-ajani/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"gastric","kind":"cancer","name":"Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer","route":"/cancers/gastric/"},{"id":"esophageal","kind":"cancer","name":"Oesophageal cancer","route":"/cancers/esophageal/"}],"technology":[{"id":"checkpoint-inhibitor","kind":"technology","name":"Immune checkpoint inhibitors","route":"/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/"}],"target":[{"id":"pd1","kind":"target","name":"PD-1","route":"/targets/pd1/"}],"drug":[{"id":"nivolumab","kind":"drug","name":"Nivolumab","route":"/drugs/nivolumab/"}],"institution":[{"id":"md-anderson","kind":"institution","name":"MD Anderson Cancer Center","route":"/institutions/md-anderson/"}],"trial":[{"id":"checkmate-648","kind":"trial","name":"CheckMate 648","route":"/trials/checkmate-648/"},{"id":"checkmate-649","kind":"trial","name":"CheckMate 649","route":"/trials/checkmate-649/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-checkmate-649-lancet-2021","kind":"paper","name":"CheckMate 649: nivolumab plus chemotherapy as first treatment for advanced gastric, gastro-oesophageal junction and oesophageal adenocarcinoma","route":"/key-papers/paper-checkmate-649-lancet-2021/"}]}}