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Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD

Gastrointestinal Medical Oncologist

4.8 | 116 reviews

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.

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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

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.

  • 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

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

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

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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

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

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Metroplus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)

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
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Contact and Location

Dr. Abou-Alfa sees patients at one 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.

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. 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.

See all on PubMed

Patient Reviews

Your trust is our main concern

We strive to keep reviews trustworthy, honest and fair. Learn more about our patient experience reviews.

4.8 116 reviews

  • 4.8 Provider's Explanations Easy to Understand
  • 4.8 Trusts Provider with Care
  • 4.7 Provider Listened Carefully
  • 4.8 Likelihood of Recommending Provider
Mar 11, 2025

Amazing experience- everyone was kind and thoughtful and thorough!

Mar 3, 2025

Dr. Abou-Alfa was the only person that made me feel like I might be able to fight this and that I shouldn't give up. He's a brilliant and kind doctor. I was lucky to find him.

Feb 25, 2025

A wonderful place to be cared for, very concerned and you know this is the best place to be

Feb 18, 2025

Very friendly staff and always willing to help I'm very happy with their care.

Feb 17, 2025

From the lovely receptionist to the doctor everyone was so respectful, kind, empathetic, and supportive. Considering why i was there with major cancer concerns i walked away with hope. I am grateful for the input we received. Truly the best!

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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.

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
  • Envision Communications
    Professional Services and Activities
  • HMP Oncology Learning Network
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Huahui Health Ltd.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • IDEOlogy Health, LLC
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Imedex, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Ipsen Pharma
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • J-Pharma Co., Ltd.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Merck & Co Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Research to Practice
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Roche
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Senhwa Biosciences, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Servier
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Shanghai Jo'Ann Medical Technology Co., Ltd
    Professional Services and Activities
  • WebMD
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Yiviva, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Zymeworks Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)

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 ecoi@mskcc.org.


View all disclosures

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