Special Interview with Prof. Ghassan Abou-Alfa from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

On February 2, 2023, the Editorial Office of Journal of Hepatoma Research had the honor to interview Prof. Ghassan Abou-Alfa from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York, the United States. The interviewer Prof. Luca Fabris is from the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Padova in Padua, Italy.

As an academic pioneer in the field of treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies, Prof. Abou-Alfa talked about the promising molecular targets identified by next-generation sequencing (NGS) to treat cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and explained the role of combination therapies as a strategy to circumvent chemoresistance in CCA. Prof. Abou-Alfa also proposed his points on the future direction in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of CCA. Finally, he analyzed the reason for the disappointing results of immunotherapy and talked about some innovative therapies.

Interviewee Introduction

Prof. Abou-Alfa is an Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and a Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical School at Cornell University. He earned his MBA from Columbia University, and completes his Juris Doctor law degree at Fordham Law School in New York City. He specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies and, in particular, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHC), gallbladder cancer (GB), and fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC). He is the immediate previous Chair of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Hepatobiliary Task Force and the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology (ISGIO). Prof. Abou-Alfa is also a member of the International Affairs Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and serves as a member of its Steering Committee.

In November 2022, Prof. Abou-Alfa was honored with a Presidential Order of Merit of the Lebanese Government. It is the highest state order of Lebanon and was bestowed in recognition of the exceptional contributions he has made to medical and humanitarian societal efforts, including contribution to the development of six FDA-approved treatments, successful collaboration with oncology organizations worldwide to further patient care, and work in global cancer disparities, especially in areas of conflict. Prof. Abou-Alfa was also invited as Adjunct Professor to Trinity College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland, where he will serve as the first professor in Medical Diplomacy.

Interview Questions

1. Since the response rate of IDH1 and FGFR2 fusions inhibitors remains low, what are the next promising molecular targets identified by NGS to treat CCA? TP53, KRAS, CDKN2A/B, ARID1A …

2. What is the role of combination therapies as a strategy to circumvent chemoresistance in CCA?

3. Within the tumor microenvironment (TME) of CCA, which cell type is the most suitable for therapeutic manipulation? Do you envisage any future direction in this respect? Are cancer stem cells amenable to intervention?

4. Why have the results from immunotherapy been so disappointing so far? Only a matter of "immunological coldness"?

5. In the dawn of innovative therapies, is there any chance to target tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis to reduce lymphatic spread?

Thanks for the strong support from Prof. Ghassan Abou-Alfa and Prof. Luca Fabris for the special interview!