Dr. Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, JD, MBA, PhD (hc)

Gastrointestinal Medical Oncologist

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Gastrointestinal cancers and conditions
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Gallbladder cancer

My Specialties

  • Targeted therapy
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Dr. Abou-Alfa's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am a board-certified medical oncologist who treats patients with gastrointestinal cancers. My specialization is in primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), pancreas, gallbladder, and bile duct tumors. As part of a multidisciplinary group, my colleagues and I offer patients a team approach to treating these cancers.

My research focuses on improving the effectiveness of cancer therapy by incorporating small novel biological molecules that target cancer into the treatment of chemotherapy-resistant gastrointestinal malignancies, particularly hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a gastrointestinal (GAS-troh-in-TES-tih-nul) medical oncologist, which is a cancer doctor who specializes in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. This includes anal, colorectal, esophageal, gastric (stomach), liver, and pancreatic cancers. We also treat GI stromal tumors and neuroendocrine tumors.

  • Attending Physician
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Gastrointestinal cancers and conditions
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Gallbladder cancer
  • Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma)
  • Primary liver cancer

My Specialties

  • Targeted therapy
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, American University of Beirut

Residencies

  • Yale University School of Medicine

Fellowships

  • Yale University School of Medicine

Board Certifications

  • Internal Medicine
  • Medical Oncology

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2025)
  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)

Insurance Information

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Contact and Location

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
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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.

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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.

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Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Abou-Alfa’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.

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Disclosures

Members of the MSK Community 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. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.

MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders 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. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • AbbVie
    Professional Services and Activities
  • AstraZeneca
    Professional Services and Activities
  • AUTEM Medical, LLC
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
    Professional Services and Activities
  • HMP Oncology Learning Network
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Imedex, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • J-Pharma Co., Ltd.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Research to Practice
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Roche
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Servier
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Shanghai Jo'Ann Medical Technology Co., Ltd
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • WebMD
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Yiviva, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Zymeworks Inc.
    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, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). 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].


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