# Jaffer A. Ajani

Source: https://onco.cc/people/jaffer-ajani/  
OnCo record `jaffer-ajani` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Gastro-oesophageal oncologist who co-led CheckMate 649, the trial that added nivolumab to first-line gastric cancer chemotherapy.

## Summary

Jaffer Ajani was a lead investigator of CheckMate 649, which showed nivolumab plus chemotherapy improves survival in first-line advanced gastric, gastro-oesophageal junction and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, and of CheckMate 648 in oesophageal squamous cancer. He chaired the NCCN gastric and oesophageal guideline panels for many years and studies the biology of peritoneal metastasis.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: gastric; esophageal; immunotherapy
- Role: Professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Specialisms: Gastric cancer; Oesophageal cancer; Immunotherapy; Preoperative therapy

## Sources

- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Ajani%20JA%5BAuthor%5D%20gastric%20nivolumab

## Connected records

- cancers: [Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gastric/), [Oesophageal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/esophageal/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- targets: [PD-1](https://onco.cc/targets/pd1/)
- drugs: [Nivolumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/nivolumab/)
- institutions: [MD Anderson Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/md-anderson/)
- trials: [CheckMate 648](https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-648/), [CheckMate 649](https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-649/)
- key papers: [CheckMate 649: nivolumab plus chemotherapy as first treatment for advanced gastric, gastro-oesophageal junction and oesophageal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-checkmate-649-lancet-2021/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/jaffer-ajani.json