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David H. Ilson, MD, PhD

David H. Ilson, MD, PhD

Gastrointestinal Medical Oncologist

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Colorectal, Esophageal, Pancreatic, Gastric, and Other Gastrointestinal Cancers
  • Unknown Primary Tumors
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Dr. Ilson's Office Information
Languages: English
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About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Attending Physician
Get To Know Me

I am a medical oncologist with special interest and expertise in treating patients who have upper gastrointestinal cancers, particularly those with esophageal cancer.

My research focus is studying new agents to treat advanced disease and evaluating novel agents in combined-modality therapy to treat locally advanced disease.

Read more

In 1992, I joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Gastrointestinal Oncology Service. I am an attending physician and member at Memorial Hospital and a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. I completed a fellowship in medical oncology and hematology here at Memorial Sloan Kettering after receiving master’s and PhD degrees in basic science and an MD degree from New York University. I completed my internship and residency in internal medicine at Bellevue Hospital at NYU Medical Center. My undergraduate training was at the University of Connecticut.

I am a member of the GI committees of the national clinical research groups Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). I am also a member of the Upper GI Cancer Guidelines Committee of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and chairman of the Intergroup Esophageal and Gastric Cancer Task Force Committee.

My Role at MSK

A gastrointestinal (GAS-troh-in-TES-tih-nul) medical oncologist is a cancer doctor who specializes in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. This includes anal, colorectal, esophageal, gastric (stomach), liver, and pancreatic cancers, as well as GI stromal tumors and neuroendocrine tumors.

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Colorectal, Esophageal, Pancreatic, Gastric, and Other Gastrointestinal Cancers
  • Unknown Primary Tumors
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, PhD, New York University School of Medicine

Residencies

  • NYU Medical Center/Bellevue Hospital

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: New York Magazine Top Doctors (2007-2009, 2016)

Fellowships

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certifications

  • Internal Medicine
  • Medical Oncology

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

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New Patients
Scheduling an appointment is easy. Click or call 646-497-9053— we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Ilson sees patients at two locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Middletown, NJ
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
Get Directions
Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth
480 Red Hill Road Middletown NJ 07748
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Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Gastrointestinal Oncology Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Ilson’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

David H. Ilson discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Amgen
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Astellas
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Bayer
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Daiichi Sankyo
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Lilly Oncology
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Merck & Co Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Roche
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Taiho
    Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


View all disclosures

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