In the U.S.

GCTA

Overview

Yelena Y. Janjigian

Chief Attending, GI Service; Director, GCTA; Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair

Research:

The GCTA advances gastroesophageal cancer (GEC) research by transforming molecular insights into therapies that address treatment resistance and improve patient outcomes. We integrate biomarker-driven clinical trials with cutting-edge technologies—including digital pathology, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, immunopeptidomics, genomics, and AI—to identify and prioritize new drug targets.

Our work focuses on key GEC mechanisms such as HER2 signaling, the tumor microenvironment, and innate immune pathways (e.g., cGAS–STING), with findings validated in preclinical models including patient-derived organoids and xenografts.

Collaborations:

Greenbaum Lab (MSKCC): Investigating innate immune sensing and LINE-1 activation in GEC using transcriptomics, immunopeptidomics, and neoantigen prediction to identify new therapeutic targets.
Dr. Francisco Sánchez-Vega (MSKCC): Applying machine learning and network-based algorithms to model treatment response, resistance, and patient stratification across multi-omic GEC datasets.
GONO (Italy): Studying therapeutic resistance in HER2-positive GEC by integrating clinical trial data with genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses to guide combination strategies.
Samsung Medical Center (South Korea): Exploring HER2 resistance, chromosomal instability, and early gastric/Barrett’s biology using long-read WGS, RNA-seq, and spatial transcriptomics.

Featured News

Antonio Lekhrajmal is seen outdoors with his wife, Maria. He has been successfully treated with checkpoint inhibitors for advanced stomach cancer.

How Checkpoint Inhibitors for Stage 4 Stomach Cancer Worked for Antonio

Learn how MSK helped a man with stage 4 stomach (gastric) cancer using checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy that also treats many other cancers.

Jack Georgakis is seen wrestling in a martial arts class.

FDA Approves Adding Durvalumab Immunotherapy to Prevent Stomach and Esophageal Cancer Recurrence

Learn about a new approach helping to reduce the risk of stomach and esophageal cancer coming back after surgery, which has been approved by the FDA thanks to a clinical trial with immunotherapy led by researchers at MSK.

Adding Immunotherapy to Standard Treatment Before and After Surgery Helps Gastric and Gastroesophageal Cancer Patients Live Longer Without Cancer Recurrence

Adding immunotherapy to standard treatment both before and after surgery significantly improved outcomes for people with gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (G/GEA), according to experts from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). Results from the MATTERHORN trial, a global phase three study, were presented today at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).