Raffit Hassan, M.D.

Dr. Hassan has played pivotal role in validating the tumor differentiation antigen mesothelin as a target for cancer therapy and development of mesothelin targeted immunotherapy. This work has laid the foundation for several mesothelin directed agents that he is evaluating in the clinic for treatment of mesothelioma, lung and pancreatic cancer. His clinical trials using an anti-mesothelin immunotoxin has shown major tumor responses in patients with mesothelioma. Ongoing efforts are directed to exploiting this approach for treatment of lung and pancreatic cancer.
Contact Info
Center for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute
Bldg 10; 10 Center Drive room: 4E-5330
Bethesda, MD 20892
Ph: 301-451-8742
hassanr@mail.nih.gov
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A Phase I Study of the Mesothelin-Targeted Immunotoxin LMB-100 in Combination with SEL-110 in Subjects with Malignant Mesothelioma
Open - RecruitingNCI Protocol ID NCI-18-C-0057Investigator Raffit Hassan, M.D. -
Phase II Trial with Safety Run-in of the Anti-Mesothelin Antibody Drug Conjugate Anetumab Ravtansine for Mesothelin Expressing Lung Adenocarcinoma
Open - RecruitingNCI Protocol ID NCI-16-C-0145Investigator Raffit Hassan, M.D. -
A Phase I Study of the Mesothelin-Targeted Immunotoxin LMB-100 with or without Nab-Paclitaxel (Abraxane) in Patients with Malignant Mesothelioma
Open - RecruitingNCI Protocol ID NCI-16-C-0127Investigator Raffit Hassan, M.D. -
An Open Label Phase Ib Dose Escalation Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, Immunogenicity and Maximum Tolerated Dose of Anetumab Ravtansine in Combination with Pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 and Cisplatin 75 mg/m2 in Subjects with
Open - RecruitingNCI Protocol ID NCI-16-C-0099Investigator Raffit Hassan, M.D. -
An Open-Label, Phase 1 Study of the Safety and Immunogenicity of JNJ-64041757, a Live Attenuated Listeria Monocytogenes Immunotherapy, in Subjects with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Open - RecruitingNCI Protocol ID NCI-16-C-0013Investigator Raffit Hassan, M.D. -
Tissue Procurement and Natural History Study of Patients with Malignant Mesothelioma and Other Mesothelin Expressing Cancers
Open - RecruitingNCI Protocol ID NCI-13-C-0202Investigator Raffit Hassan, M.D.
Dr. Hassan's research interest is focused on developing targeted immunotherapy, especially immunotoxins, for patients with malignant mesothelioma and other solid tumors. While working as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ira Pastan, Dr. Hassan did pioneering preclinical work on the tumor differentiation antigen mesothelin as a target for cancer therapy and he has played a key role in bringing mesothelin-directed therapies to the clinic.
A major focus of the Hassan laboratory is developing mesothelin-targeted agents for treating cancer. These include an anti-mesothelin immunotoxin (SS1P), a chimeric monoclonal antibody to mesothelin (Amatuximab), an anti-mesothelin antibody drug conjugate (BAY 94-9343) and a mesothelin vaccine (CRS-207).
His initial pre-clinical studies and early phase clinical trials of the immunotoxin SS1P validated mesothelin as a therapeutic target for cancer therapy. His work is now focused on increasing the efficacy of SS1P in patients. The two approaches his laboratory is studying include combining SS1P with chemotherapy and decreasing the immunogenicity of immunotoxins. His group has recently shown major and durable tumor responses in patients with treatment refractory mesothelioma by combining SS1P with immunosupression. This work opens up the field of immunotoxin therapy for solid tumors and ongoing studies will elevate this approach for treatment of common cancers, including lung adenocarcinoma. In addition, Dr. Hassan and his collaborators will continue to develop less immunogenic immunotoxins for treatment of cancer.
His laboratory studies include development of mesothelioma patient-derived xenografts that mimic the molecular characteristics of patient tumors and are valuable for preclinical studies of mesothelin-directed agents. In addition, his laboratory studies the role of mesothelin in different tumors, the tumor immune environment of human meosthelioma and changes following treatment with immunotoxin therapy.
Selected Key Publications
- Cancer Res. 74: 2907-2912, 2014. [ Journal Article ]
- Sci Transl Med. 5: 208ra147, 2013. [ Journal Article ]
- Clin. Cancer Res. 16: 6132-8, 2010. [ Journal Article ]
- Clin. Cancer Res. 13: 5144-9, 2007. [ Journal Article ]
- Clin. Cancer Res. 12: 447-53, 2006. [ Journal Article ]
Dr. Raffit Hassan is a medical oncologist and senior investigator at NCI. He received his medical degree from the University of Kashmir, India in 1988 and did his internship and residency training in internal medicine at Sisters Hospital, University of Buffalo and subsequently completed his medical oncology fellowship at the NCI. After finishing his fellowship training he joined the medical faculty at the University of Oklahoma in 1998. He returned to NCI as a tenure track investigator in 2002 and received tenure in 2008. Dr. Hassan is a recipient of the ASCO Career Development Award, the NIH Patient Oriented Research Career Development Award and the Pioneer Award from the Mesothelioma Foundation.
Position | Number of Positions | Contact E-mail | Contact Name | Contact Phone |
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Tenure Track Investigator | 1 | cj.ecalano@mail.nih.gov | CJ Ecalano | 240-760-6331 |
Name | Position |
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Maria Garcia Agra R.N. | Clinical Research Nurse (Contr) |
Romi Biswas Ph.D. | Research Fellow |
Gideon Blumenthal M.D. | Clinical Collaborator |
Farhad Fakhrejahani M.D. | Clinical Fellow |
Shaojian Gao Ph.D. | Senior Research Fellow |
Qun Jiang Ph.D. | Staff Scientist |
Mana Kamana Khanal Ph.D. | Postdoctoral Fellow (Visiting) |
Chul Kim M.D. | Clinical Fellow |
Firouzeh Korangy Ph.D. | Scientist (Contr) |
Betsy Morrow | Biologist |
Emerson Padiernos C.R.N.P. | Senior Nurse Practitioner |
Arun Rajan, M.D. | Associate Research Physician |
Daniel Rathkey | Postbaccalaureate Fellow |
Susan Sansone | Patient Care Coordinator (Contr) |
Haleluya Yimamu | Patient Care Coordinator II (Contr) |
Jingli Zhang | Biologist |